A Darkened Light
by Trapped
Summary: On his journey to find the door to the light, Sora is reunited with old friends and confronted by a new girl who holds a power that is as secret and as dangerous as her existance. Loved ones are made and lost secrets are uncovered destiny reveals itself.
1. Darkness Consumes All

_**Ch. 1: Darkness Consumes All**_

_The newer characters belong to me and the older characters from the game belong to SquareSoft and Disney _

"You're hurting me." the voice of an angered teenager mused, her teeth grinding with pain and fury.

"That's the whole point my dear. How else do you except me to punish you? Tell me, how else?" Ansem questioned, holding the girl's scarred neck in his hand close to his face.

The girl breathed in the cold, dark air with a sharp, stinging sensation as the air hit her lungs. Her hands bled as she twisted them, trying to release herself from the rope that bounded them together behind her back. Sweat dripped down her face and stung her eyes as if they were being torched by a flame. She was so tired, yet never let a clue to her exhaustion find its way onto her face.

"You're very good at hiding your pain. You know that, right?" Ansem threw the girl down onto the stone ground that lined the castle of Kingdom Hearts.

"Only learned from the best." the girl answered, coughing into the ground. She pushed her body up and sat on her knees. "Are we quite finished now?"

"I suppose so. Unless you wish me to continue." Ansem laughed.

"No thank you." the girl's breathing was now long and hard as she spoke to her master.

"All right then. You are released." Ansem waved his hand over the trapped form in front of him and her bonds were cut.

The girl brought her hands in front of her and began to rub her wrists. She stood herself up and faced the man she despised and loved the most.

"Feel better?" he asked, smiling deviously at the young girl. "Say it." he urged. "Say it."

"Forgive me for my sins for I have done you wrong and deserve what I have just received." she forced. The words seemed as poisonous as the venom of a deadly rattlesnake to the girl.

Ansem smiled again, pleased to hear the words uttered from the girl's mouth.

"You are forgiven. Now what have we learned my child?"

The girl sighed in hatred, rolling her eyes.

"That I should never disobey the great and powerful Ansem, ruler of all darkness, again." she said, sarcastically.

She smiled at the man. If a smile was able to kill, Ansem would have dropped dead right there and then.

"Eh, eh, eh. Don't be fresh or you won't get your present." Ansem grasped his hand around the teenager's chin and shook her head side to side.

"What present?" she muttered.

Ansem let go of her and began to walk down the stone stairs that led him to two giant, wooden doors.

"Come!" he yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

The girl sighed in hatred again and did as she was commanded. She followed Ansem through the doors and down a blackened hallway. Tiny candles all along the walls illuminated the hallway with a pale, blue flame. At the end of the hall stood another pair of doors. Ansem opened them and motioned the girl to go in first. She stepped into the room and Ansem closed the doors behind him as he entered as well.

"You know, with the present you gave me last month, I could reverse all this." the girl mocked, crossing her arms.

"You could, but you wouldn't get the present I'm giving you now." Ansem answered, walking toward a weird looking machine.

"Oh. Is this present really that spectacular?"

"That all depends on your desire for power, my dear." Ansem turned toward the girl. "How far are you willing to go for power?"

"As far I as have to. You know this already. All I want out of life is one chance at complete and total power. Why are you asking me this?" the girl asked, confused to the direction of the man's question.

"I am now going to give you that power." Ansem whispered.

The girl's eyes widen and the tone of her voice changed. "What must I do?"

"Stand still my child." Ansem stepped closer to the girl and placed his hand on her cheek. "Don't be afraid." he whispered.

"It takes a lot more than you touching my cheek to frighten me." Nonetheless, she was scared.

Ansem's palm spread out on the girl's cheek. Suddenly, a dark green light twisted and circled around the girl. The light absorbed into her chest and straight into her heart. Ansem backed away and smiled.

"You now have the power to control the Heartless."

His words filled the teenaged girl with such joy and strength that she discarded the fact that pain surged through her veins from her punishment.

"The power to control the Heartless." the girl smiled, starring at her arms which she held in the air. She clenched her fists and let out a triumphant, "Ahhh!"

Ansem smiled to himself as the young girl rejoice over her new power.

"Why don't you try it out?" he suggested.

The girl turned her head to the side and an evil smile found its way onto her face. She faced forward and waved her hand through the darkness. To her satisfaction, three small Shadows rose from the stone ground.

"This is too good." she spoke slowly to show her complete satisfaction.

"I'm glad to hear you are pleased by your new power, my child." Ansem said. "Come with me." Ansem led the young teenager out of the room and back into his thrown room. He took her hand and walked toward the rock stairs. "I have a new assignment for you child."

"Okay. Do I get to kill people?" she questioned, smiling at Ansem. Her hatred had now been subdued and she gladly presented her gratification to her master.

"Well, you might have to. But, you may not kill the three I am sending you after." he answered.

"I'm to follow someone. That's it? I just get to watch someone?" the girl became a bit annoyed at this information.

"Yes. You have heard of this so-called 'Keyblade master', have you not?"

"You speak of him pretty often Ansem. How could I not know him? Sora isn't it?" she said.

"That's him. You are to find him and his dull-witted friends, and track them. Do not show yourself to them until I say you are to do so. Understand?" Ansem climbed the last step and sat down on his black thrown.

"I understand. Why am I doing this?"

"He has beaten me once. He shall not overcome the darkness again."

Ansem slipped into, what seemed to be, a state of remembrance. His very blood boiled at the notion that Sora was freely roaming the worlds while he sat back in Kingdom Hearts, unable to quench his thirst for the blood of the Keyblade master.

"Okay. Calm down. Don't go all homicidal on me Ansem. Well, at the moment don't. All right? I'll do this. When should I expect your word to show myself to them?" the girl asked.

"Give it a few days. I'll send word to you, then, let them know that someone is following them. Let them find you. You'll be given more instruction before you meet the idiots." Ansem freed the girl's hand. He motioned her to gather her things and leave as soon as possible.

The young teenager descended the stairs and walked over to the side of the room where a small chest was positioned. From inside the dark chest, she took a black, leather belt and fastened it around her waist. She then wrapped a black cloak around her slender yet built body. When buttoned, the cloak covered her dark blue jeans and blue, gray, and gold tank-top. Her black, fingerless gloves that covered only her hands were still visible. After adjusting her hood, her red and black hair lay gracefully atop her shoulders as two blonde braids fell on her face. Lastly, she picked up two short, black Keyblades from the chest and slid them into the seethes on either side of her belt.

Ansem watched as the girl left the room and exited the castle of Kingdom Hearts. Again, he smiled to himself as a wave of satisfaction rolled over him.

'Soon.' he thought. 'Soon I will be able to return the pain of death to a once favorable enemy.'

--

"Got'cha!" Sora dove onto Pluto just as the dog was about to duck out of sight again. "Give it here boy." he said, pulling the letter with the king's seal from the dog's mouth.

"Open it Sora!" Goofy yelled, trying to catch up with the young Keyblade master.

Sora sat down on the ground and broke the royal seal on the envelope. He opened the letter and starred at it in bewilderment and disappointment.

"What's the matter? What did the king say?" Donald said, catching his breath as he stopped in front of Sora.

Sora kept silent for a moment. "It's empty." he muttered.

"What!?!?" Donald yelled.

"What d'ya mean it's empty!? It had the king's seal on it. It can't have nothing in it." Goofy protested.

Sora's head sank down and he handed the bare letter to Donald. The magician examined the piece of paper.

"All that time chasing that dog around and for what. Nothing. Just a black piece of paper! I bet the king didn't even send us this. I bet this was a whole scheme." Donald sat down next to Sora, just as disappointed and tired as he was.

"Well, now what do we do?" Sora sighed.

"I guess we could... eh... no... well, we could..." Goofy thought for a moment.

"We look for that door!" Donald proclaimed, getting up from the ground. "Come on Sora. Pluto, you come with us."

Sora stood up slowly. Before following Donald and Goofy, he bent down and picked up the piece of paper.

'He wouldn't just send us a blank piece of paper. Something must have happened to it. But what? And how? What could the king be trying to tell us?' he thought, then folded the paper and stuffed it in his back pocket.

The three friends once again found themselves wandering down the small, dirt path, Pluto following not too far behind. Night fell after a few miles. They laid down on the soft grass. Donald and Goofy were fast asleep within moments. Sora, on the other hand, did not find sleep so quickly. He felt as though something was wrong. It was distant, but still, something was wrong. The fifteen year old Keyblade master held his chest as he gazed at the stars. The pain in his chest became more intense by the minute. Soon, it became so sharp that the simple act of breathing was difficult. A new surge of pain flowed through his body with every beat of his heart. Sora's limbs went numb and his mind went blank all except for one name. Kairi. That's when it hit him. Something was happening to Kairi.

Sora fell into a state of unconsciousness.

_ Memories of his island flashed across his eyes. Suddenly, he saw her. Kairi was standing in the shore of Destiny Islands just as night fell. She turned around and he could see tears streaming down her face. She began to walk down the beach, slowly, as she rubbed her arms to keep warm. Sora wanted to reach out to her, but his arms were still numb. He tried to call out to her, but no sound came. So, he watched her walk._

_ Unexpectedly, Sora saw a gold light appear close to Kairi. From the light came a person. The person wore a hooded black cloak which kept the figure hidden. It began to walk toward Kairi. As it reached Kairi, the figure outstretched its hand to the young girl. Then... it spoke._

_ "Kenya vash portel anie, Kairi." _

_ Instantly, Sora realized that the voice belonged to a young woman. It took a moment for Sora to realize that the cloaked figure was speaking in a different language, though. The words were unknown to him. He listened harder to see if the figure would continue to speak in this language._

_ "I remember you." Kairi whispered, smiling. "Why?" she asked, innocently._

_ The figure kept silent for a moment. "Kenya vash portel anie." she said, sounding as though she was begging Kairi to do something._

_ "You're going to take me to him, aren't you?" Kairi asked, becoming concerned._

_ "Kairi, ganet avai. Shonoro mei. Kegin, kenya vash portel anie." the girl said, waving her arms as her tone became a bit annoyed._

_ "What do you expect me to do? Throw myself at you and yell 'Take me to him, please!'!? Why are you still listening to him anyway?" _

_ The figure shook her head and rubbed her face. "Kairi..." the girl paused. "Do you want the worlds to stay like this!? Do you want your island to be swallowed again!? Do you want everyone and everything you ever loved to be taken by the darkness again!? Tell me, is that what you want!? Kenya vash portel anie!" she outstretched her hand again._

_ Sora was surprised to hear the cloaked figure speak his language. Several questions ran through Sora's mind at the same time. Where did the girl want Kairi to go? Who was this 'he'? And how does Kairi know this girl?_

_ "There's no other way?" Kairi questioned, beginning to cry._

_ "Jedt." the girl sighed. "Kegin Kairi. Kenya vash portel anie."_

_ Kairi took the girl's glove covered hand. _

_ "Promise me you won't let him hurt me." Kairi said._

_ The girl didn't answer. She turned and led her into the gold light. _

_ Destiny Islands faded away, but Sora remained unconscious. All turned black and silent. The silence was only broken when the voice of the cloaked girl returned. _

_ "You promised you wouldn't hurt her!"_

_ "...I lied."_

_ The sounds of a cracking whip, countless screams, and a man's evil laugh then filled the air. _

_ "You're hurting me."_

The voice's faded away. Sora quickly became conscious again. He jumped up and was breathing hard.

"Kairi."

--

The room was dark and cold. The man stood there, watching the boy shiver in the sphere of dark blue light that was his prison.

"Consumed by the darkness, yet still searching for the light." Ansem used. "Such a pathetic child."

Two Shadows that stood as tall as Ansem rose from the stone ground.

"Tentor Ansem, cendel falor jenai." one of the Shadows said in a deep and scratchy voice.

"Do you hear that boy?" Ansem spoke to the silver-haired boy.

The young boy did not answer though. He had been unconscious for months, floating inside his light prison.

"She's found your stupid friend. It won't be long now. I'll have the true Keyblade and the heart of its master. And you thought you could overcome that darkness. Ha! You are just as pathetic as your friend is."

"Menog enos senow?" the other Heartless uttered in its strange language.

"Leave her be. She'll be dead in matter of days. She's no longer your concern. If she continues to struggle though, I'll have to deal with things my own way." Ansem answered. "She must not outlive the week." Ansem thought to himself for an instant. "What am I doing? There's nothing to fear. That room will drain everything she has from her. There's no possible way she will live for more than a few days. Send for a messenger!" he demanded after assuring himself all was well.

The Shadows dissolved into the floor. A few minutes later, a smaller Shadow rose from the ground and approached Ansem. Ansem took out a small note from his pocket and handed it to the Shadow.

"You know what to do." he said, still looking at the boy.

The Shadow nodded and left.

"You know what would be fun boy? If I released you to find your friends." Ansem smiled deviously to himself. "She's been dying to finish you off. Yes, I think that would do just fine."

Ansem waved his hand in front of the light and it disappeared. The boy dropped to the ground, still unconscious.

"Take your heart and leave." Ansem said.

He once again waved his hand through the air in front of him. The boy's body illuminated with a fiery-red light. It absorbed into him and the boy disappeared from the room.

"Now, to tend to that girl." Ansem vented, becoming annoyed.

The dark man walked out of the room and down a long corridor similar to the other one.

"Kairi, Kairi, Kairi. You've become such an annoyance." Ansem sighed as he approached a black door with a small glass window in it. He stepped up to the door and peered in.

The room was nothing more than the cold, rough terrain of Kingdom Hearts enclosed in four walls. The floor was made of jagged rocks and boulders. The room was the darkest shade of black. The air was cold and poisonous.

"You may be strong princess, but you're not strong enough." Ansem whispered.

Kairi sat in the middle of the room, shaking. Her eyes had a strange glaze over them. She rocked back and forth while holding her legs and staring at the ground. Her skin had turned pale and cold to the touch. The only moving thing besides Kairi's shaking body was the movement of her frozen breath through the darkness.

Ansem began to laugh at the sight of the pathetic form before him. What would silence him would change the course of the worlds for eternity. Nothing would be the same once Ansem stopped laughing.

Ansem watched as Kairi fell to side and lay on the cold ground. Her body seized up and stopped shaking. There was no sign of her frozen breath floating through the darkness.

"And there you have it." Ansem mused, laughing once again. "All hope for the future of the princesses has been destroyed. You were their last hope of ruling these pathetic worlds peacefully princess Kairi. There shall be no light where you wind up. There shall never again be even the smallest glimmer of light in the worlds once I have regained my full strength. Darkness will conquer all worlds! They'll be no stopping the inevitable this time. The final princess of heart is gone; completely consumed by the darkness." Ansem stopped to think for a moment. "Nothing will be able to stop me now. She'll make sure of it. She's such a stupid child. Thinking she'll be able to regain her father by giving into me. Her father is lost. Engulfed by the darkness. Never to walk amongst the living again. Such a meaningless effort. Over a year with me and still she understands nothing. But, she will not betray me. She has too much to lose. She'll obey my every whim without question. Thanks to her, all hearts will return to darkness."

And with that, Ansem left the door and strode down the blackened hallway, leaving the lifeless body of the last princess of heart in the hallow chamber to rot and decay.

AN: Yes, okay, I admit it. I killed Kairi. I'm sorry. It makes the story what it is though. And it's only the first chapter. It'll get better, I promise. Come to think of it, this was a very depressing chapter. Umm, oh well. Please keep reading! Thanx.


	2. Deception

_**Ch. 2: Deception**_

_The characters that are brand new belong to me, of course, and the ones from the game belong to Disney and SquareSoft_

Night had fallen around him. He lay silent on the dirt ground. The wind blew over his body and created goose bumps on his skin. The rustling of leaves sounded all around him. Yet that wasn't the reason he finally opened his eyes.

For the first time in three months, Riku's eyes fluttered and opened. He breathed in fresh air and felt the wind on his face as he sat up. His hands ran over the soft grass and moist dirt. A wave of confusion and freedom flowed over him.

"Where am I?" he asked, even though he knew no one was there. "How am I here? Where ever here is. This can't be right. I'm supposed to be in... unless he's screwing with my head. Or... I could be dead. Hey, I rhymed. What am I talking about!? How can I be thinking about rhyming when I'm... I'm... free." Riku's voiced softened.

The sixteen year old boy stood up and looked about him.

"Okay, don't panic. You're no longer there. But how? Why?"

Quickly, Riku placed his hand on his chest. "No... fucking... way."

He felt a beat. Not just any beat, but a heart beat.

"I really am out. I'm free." Riku became overwhelmed in excitement and bewilderment. "Sora. Sora!"

Riku began to run on what seemed to be a small, dirt path. Suddenly, he stopped. There in front of him was Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

"That was way too easy." he said, even more confused than he was before. He blinked his eyes and shook his head a bit to see if he was only hallucinating. But he wasn't. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were lying on the grass next to the dirt path fast asleep.

"Sora!"

"I'm up." Sora slurred half asleep as he jumped up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, not bothering to look for what had called his name out.

Riku ran up to his friend and knelt down next to him.

"You were way too easy to find."

"Riku! You're alive! And you're here. Wait... how are you here? I left you back in Kingdom Hearts." Sora stood up, both excited and confused at the sight of Riku.

"I have no idea. All I know is that I'm out. And I got my heart." Riku smiled, grabbing Sora's forearm and shaking it.

Over in a bush some distance away from the boys, sat an anxious sixteen year old girl, awaiting her instructions.

A small Shadow appeared next to her.

"It's about time." the girl said taking the note from the Shadow. "Tell me, how's the other girl?"

"Aden ana feya." the Shadow whispered in its own language.

"Oh." she sighed. Her eyes became covered in tears. "Away with you." she said, whipping the tears away.

Once the Shadow had disappeared, the girl opened the note and began to read.

'Now, my child, you may show yourself to Sora and his idiotic friends. Oh, by the way, Riku will be there as well. You are not to kill him, understand? What I want you to do is let them find you. Join up with them. Become their friend. Don't mention anything about me or what you really are. Make sure you bring up the fact that Kairi is... well... dead. Tell Sora you can lead him to the door to the light. When I have regained my full strength, I will take matters into my own hands. Then and only then will you able to come back here and gain the power you deserve. One more thing: Do not use any of your presents to assist them and do not fall in love with either of those boys. Be careful my child. Don't disappoint me.'

"Yes sir, mister all-mighty." the girl said, mockingly. She stuffed the note in her pocket.

The sun was rising over the hills.

"Do you hear something?" Sora said, looking around.

"I didn't hear nothing." Goofy answered.

"Wait..."

The sound of something moving in the bushes came to Sora's ears again.

"I heard it that time. Something's out there." Riku whispered.

"It's coming from over there." Donald pointed to a patch of bushes about twenty feet from them.

Sora took out his Keyblade and he and Riku stepped closer to the bushes. They could now hear the sound of something breathing. Riku stepped right up to the bushes while Sora raised his Keyblade. At once, Riku reached into the bushes and grabbed on to the arm of whatever was in there. He pulled it out and restrained both its arms.

"No! Let go! I didn't do nothing!"

Sora and Riku stared at the girl for a moment. She had dark maroon eyes that looked like crystals and three different colors in her hair: red, black, and blonde.

"Who are you?" Sora demanded, holding his Keyblade to the girl's throat.

"Z... Zi... Ziddy. My name's Ziddy." the girl stuttered.

"Ziddy? What are you doing here?" Riku asked.

"Let me go and I'll tell you." Ziddy answered.

"And if we don't?" Sora said in a threatening matter.

"Well then, I'll have to do this."

Ziddy threw her head back and hit Riku dead on, making him release her arms. She then kicked her leg up, hitting Sora right between the legs. The boy fell to the ground and dropped the Keyblade. Riku lay on the ground, his hands over his face, making muffled noises that suggested pain.

"So there." Ziddy smoothed out her cloak and began to walk away.

"Not so fast missy." Goofy said, stepping in front of the girl, his shield out and ready.

"You're not going anywhere." Donald joined his side, his staff clenched in his hand.

Ziddy stared at the two for a moment. She scratched her head and sighed.

"You two don't wanna mess with me. Take my word on this, you wanna move out of my way."

"Fire!" Donald yelled, pointing his staff at Ziddy.

A ball of red fire came shooting out of the staff and zoomed toward the girl. Ziddy leaped into the air and the ball of fire passed right under her legs, hitting Sora in the back.

"Ow!!!" Sora screamed as he ran around in circles, trying to extinguish his burning back.

"Now that wasn't very nice." Ziddy said to Donald, still suspended in midair and pointing her finger at the duck.

"Sora, don't move." Riku threw Sora on the ground on his back and the fire was no more.

When Sora was finally de-flamed, everyone noticed something strange about Ziddy. She was still in midair, floating above the ground.

"How are you doing that?" Riku asked.

Ziddy bent over and looked through her legs at Riku. "Doing what?"

"How are you..."

"Flying. You're flying. How are you doing that?" Sora questioned, still rubbing his back.

"I don't know. I've always been able to, I guess. I think I was born with it." Ziddy answered. She picked her head up and placed herself back on the ground.

"Which side are you on?" Sora demanded.

"Side? Oh, you mean light or dark. I guess I'm on what you would call the gray side. A little bit of light and a little bit of dark." Ziddy smiled deviously at the two boys who became stunned once again by her answer. "I'm kidding. You boys need to lighten up. I'm on the good side." Ziddy shook her head.

"Are you saying that because you really are on the side of the light or just because you're scared of what we'll do to you if you don't say you're working for the light?" Sora posed, holding tight onto his Keyblade once again.

"Scared? Scared of what? Of you two? Ha! I must have hit you a bit too hard there. I'm not scared of anything. Oh, and by the way, I'd have to say yes to the first part of your question." the girl said slyly, beginning to get annoyed by the boys' distrust. "So, do you guys trust me yet or not?"

Sora and Riku glanced at each other for a moment then ran full blast at Ziddy, knocking her down and restraining her again.

"To answer _your_ question, no." Sora held the Keyblade to Ziddy's throat. "Now, you tell us why you're really here and I won't have to give you another hole to breathe through." he pressed the Keyblade harder against the girl's neck, causing her to bleed slightly.

"You boys are gonna regret this."

"Oh are we. How?" Riku asked.

Suddenly, a light came from Ziddy's body. Sora and Riku went flying through the air and came crashing down to earth, hard. Ziddy stood up and took off her cloak. She threw it on the ground. As the boys turned their heads back to her, Ziddy unsheathed her black Keyblades.

"What the..." Sora said.

Ziddy walked right up to the young Keyblade master and placed one of her Keyblades to his throat.

"Now, you are going to listen to me or," Ziddy whipped some blood off her throat and crouched down, "I'll repay for that new breathing hole you gave me by giving you one as well." she said as she dragged her bloodstained fingers across Sora's neck. "Do we understand?"

Sora nodded as he felt Ziddy's blood run down his neck and onto his shirt.

"Good." she stood up and sheathed her blades again. "You can stand up now."

Sora and Riku did as they were told and stood up. Sora picked up the Keyblade and stared at the black ones on the girl's belt.

"Yes, they are real Keyblades. Now..."

"Where'd you get them from?" Sora asked, still starring at the black Keyblades.

"I'll tell you when I know you better."

"How do you know you'll be around long enough to actually get to know us better?" Riku asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"To get straight to the point, you two need me. When I'm finished telling you what I know, you'll want me more than anything."

"You're not that pretty." Riku said, mockingly.

"That was disgusting."

"If I say it again will it make you go away?"

"You, I officially don't like."

"Ah, well tough shit." Riku grabbed the Keyblade from Sora's hand and went to strike Ziddy.

Ziddy lifted up one of her Keyblades and blocked Riku's attack.

"It's not yours." she mused.

The Keyblade disappeared from Riku's hand and reappeared in Sora's.

"If anyone is gonna fight me with it, it'll be him."

"All right then." Sora said, doing the same as Riku.

Ziddy, of course, also did the same and blocked it again.

"I know how to find what you're looking for." she whispered.

"And what am I looking for, Ziddy?" Sora said, grinding his teeth out of frustration of Ziddy's persistence.

"The door to the light."

Silence fell.

"How'd you know 'bout that?" Goofy asked, covering his mouth with his hands.

"No ones supposed to know about that except us and the king." Donald added in.

Sora stared at Ziddy and she stared at him right back. Ziddy gave a small smile and nod. She took her blade down and slid in into its sheath again.

"You're eyes give it away you know. I can tell you believe me. I can show you how to get there. How to get passed the protectors of the door. Even how to open it." Ziddy laughed.

Sora paused. "You get us there, and you can live. And I'm warning you now, this better not be some sort of con. I will kill you Ziddy, understand?"

Ziddy smiled again and bowed.

Sora walked away a bit but was stopped by Riku.

"You're not really gonna trust this girl. Are you?"

"I don't have any other choice."

--

Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy walked along the dirt path. Ziddy floated along side them, six feet above the ground, lying down as though there was a plank of wood under her.

"Ziddy can I ask you something?" Sora said quickly.

"Sure."

"Are you a real Keyblade master?" he asked, even though he really didn't want to know the answer.

Ziddy paused for a moment. "In a way. Yeah, I guess I am."

Sora took a deep breath. "Why do your Keyblades look like that?"

"Like what?" she asked, confused.

"You know," Sora turned his head to her with somewhat of an embarrassed look on his face, "all black and scary."

"Oh, I don't really know. They turned this way while I was in that room. Kingdom Hearts must've just done something to them. Haven't been able to figure out how to change them back quite yet."

"Kingdom Hearts?" Riku asked, shivering at the very mention of the place.

"Yeah, I... uh... was trapped in Kingdom Hearts for a while." Her head turned in shame and she took a deep breath.

"You were in Kingdom Hearts?" Donald asked.

"Yeah. I was stuck in this room." Ziddy said, turning her head back to the boys. "My heart was stolen from me about a year ago and I wound up in this room inside Kingdom Hearts. This room is supposed to drain the life from your very body. You slowly slip away into the darkness. Nasty place."

"How'd you survive?" Goofy questioned.

Ziddy gave a small smile. "There was this other girl there. Basically, we kept each other alive. I would have never made it out of there if it hadn't been for her."

"How _did_ you get out?" Riku asked, turning his head to Ziddy.

"Well... I found my light. And I used it to get out." Ziddy answered.

"Your light? What do you mean your light?" Riku persisted.

"My light." Ziddy paused. "My dad. I thought he had died. But, in the room, I found out that he was still alive. That gave me something to believe in and the next thing I knew, I was out."

"And what about the other girl?" Sora asked, intrigued by Ziddy's story.

Ziddy paused again. This time, the pause was one of sadness.

"I found out that… the room took her. She's dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sora apologized.

"Ah, 'tis life. It's how the worlds work. I'll never forget her though. She and I would be the only living things that spoke in that room. We'd sit on the ground and I'd hold her in my arms." her eyes closed as she remembered her time in the room. "She'd tell me stories about a light at the end of the tunnel and these two boys she used to live with."

Sora and Riku looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

"What was her name?" Sora asked, fearful of the answer.

Ziddy opened her eyes and landed on the ground.

"Kairi."

Sora and Riku stood dead in their tracks. Their minds went blank and pulse sped up. Ziddy noticed this and began to worry.

"What's the…" Then it hit her. "Oh my god. You're the boys. You're the two boys that used to live with Kairi." Ziddy panicked. "Sora, I didn't know. I swear, if I had known, I wouldn't have told you. I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no. I'm glad you told us Ziddy. Thank you." Sora stumbled over his words in his mind.

"Yeah." Was all that Riku could utter.

"You guys want me to leave you alone for a while?" Ziddy murmured.

"No... just..." Sora couldn't find the words to complete his sentence. His knees gave way and he sat on the ground. 'Kairi's dead.' he thought. 'She's dead.' Sora's body was shaking and he felt sick. His stomach was churning and his head was spinning. The fact that Kairi was dead set a flame off somewhere inside him that began to slowly burn away his emotions and feelings. He had lost all control over his own body. So, Sora just sat there. Looking helpless and confused.

Riku kneeled down on the ground. He placed his arms behind his head and started breathing hard. Millions of emotions surged through his body with every heart beat. Lose; confusion; anger; anxiety; empty; afraid; alone; helpless; hopeless. 'Why?' he asked himself. 'Why her? Why did she have to be the one to die after all this?'

Goofy and Donald stood off to the side, crying over the loss of their good friend.

And Ziddy, not knowing what she was feeling, sat down on the dirt path. She wrapped her arms around her legs and placed her chin on her knees.

'Now what do I do?'

'You gain their trust my child.' Ansem's voice rang inside Ziddy's head.

'Gain their trust? I just told them that their best friend is dead. How can I gain their trust after that?'

Ansem's voice did not return to Ziddy's thoughts. So, she sat there in silence.

'Why am I doing this?' Ziddy asked herself. 'Why ain't I crying too? I knew her. I was her friend. She's the reason I got out of Kingdom Hearts. Why ain't I crying!?' She thought for a moment. 'Oh right, that's why. I'm nothing but an emotionless son of a bitch that's helping the destruction of every world there ever was. That's why I'm not crying. That's why I can't feel anything anymore. That's why I'm doing this.'

Ziddy stood up and walked over to Sora. "Stand up." she whispered.

Sora looked up at her, tears rolling down his cheeks and a look of utter confusion upon his face. "What?" he whimpered.

"Stand up."

Still not able to feel his knees, Sora placed his hands on the ground and stood himself up as best he could.

"Do you really think that this is what Kairi would have wanted you to do?" Ziddy asked, trying to seem annoyed and angered.

"No, but..."

"She's dead Sora. Nothing can change that. She's not coming back." Ziddy uttered. She pointed to the sky and continued. "She's there and you're here. Get over it and finish what you started Keyblade Master."

"Don't you have a heart!?" Riku yelled, furious at the girl's reaction to Kairi's death.

"No, I don't." Ziddy answered quickly, turning her head to Riku. "It was lost when my father was taken from me. And trust me Sora," she looked back at the boy, "if you want to keep yours, I suggest moving on and doing it quickly. Hearts are easily lost in times of sorrow and pain."

"You really are emotionless." Riku whispered.

Ziddy turned toward him again, staring at the boy with such envy and hatred.

"You'd better get used to it because we have a long journey ahead of us."

With that, Ziddy collected her things from the ground and started down the path. And with so much pain still bottled up inside them, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy followed her, hoping she would lead them to the door to the light.

AN: Okay, hope you guys like it so far. And just to clear things up, when Ziddy said she didn't have a heart she meant an emotional heart. She is not a Heartless! Okay, that's all I have to say. See ya next chapter!


	3. History

_**Ch. 3: History**_

_The newer characters that were not in the game are all mine. Everyone else belongs to Disney and SquareSoft._

Ziddy floated through the air over the path, the others following close behind. They had been traveling like this for a solid day and a half. No one spoke to each other, especially Ziddy and Riku. Their hatred for each other had grown at least a full three and one half times since they had meet. And it wasn't getting any better.

Ziddy yawned and rubbed her eyes as she continued to fly. She sighed and tried to contain yet another yawn. She was so tired. The young woman had gone at least an entire week without a decent amount of sleep and it had finally caught up to her.

"You look tired Ziddy." Sora said.

"Ah," Ziddy yawned again, "the silence is finally broken by the valiant Sora. Thank you. I was about to go crazy. I'm fine." she lied, yawning again.

"You look really weak too. Maybe you should stop and sleep for a while." Sora suggested.

"Yeah. You stop and we'll keep going." Riku added in, hoping to lose Ziddy.

"As I said before, you're stuck with me. And I don't need," and again, Ziddy yawned, "any sleep."

"Miss Ziddy? When was the last time you slept?" Goofy asked with a concerned tone of voice.

"'Bout a week ago." Ziddy whispered, coming to her feet.

"A week? All right Ziddy, if you're going to lead us to the door, you at least have to be awake for it. We'll stop and let you sleep." Sora said, grabbing Ziddy's arm to stop her.

"We have to make it to the forest by nightfall." Ziddy said, shaking her head to keep her eyes open.

"Fine. We'll keep gong and you sleep." Riku repeated, annoyed as ever.

"That's not a bad idea Riku." Goofy said.

"What?"

Goofy picked up Ziddy and held her in his arms.

"Now Miss Ziddy, you just tell us what to do and you can sleep right here."

Ziddy smiled and laid her hand down on Goofy's chest.

"Just keep following the path. Don't stray from it. There will be a forest on the side of the path up ahead. You should reach the forest by nightfall. It you come to it earlier, stop. Don't go any further until dawn. I should be awake by then though. Most importantly, whatever you do, don't enter the forest." Ziddy warned. "Rest on the other side of the path. Do not enter the forest."

"Why not?" Donald questioned.

"Just don't do it." Ziddy answered. And with that, Ziddy closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Finally." Riku sighed. "Okay, just put her down real slowly and run."

"Why do you hate her so much Riku?" Sora asked.

"Why shouldn't I? You heard what she said about Kairi's death. And that whole story about being in a room in Kingdom Hearts that sucks the life out of you. It's a load of bull shit. There's no such room. I know; I've been in Kingdom Hearts. All there is a bunch of steep mountains, Heartless, and a big, nasty-looking castle."

"The room could be in the castle."

"Why are you defending her!?"

"Because she's the only hope we've got left!"

Riku was stunned. "You've become attached to her, haven't you?"

"What?"

"You…"

"Riku, we don't have time for this. Ziddy is the only one here that knows the way to the door. And if I have the chance to find that door with her, I am damn well gonna take it." Sora stormed off.

Donald and Goofy followed their friend, but not before glaring at Riku angrily. Riku then followed Sora, seeing there was no other choice.

--

_She ran. She ran faster than she had ever before. Then, suddenly, she came to a stop._

_"Daddy!" she yelled in fear._

_"Ziddy! What are you doing down here?"_

_"You promised dad! You promised that you would stop this. You said no more after what happened to..."_

_"Ziddy, go upstairs!"_

_"No dad. You promised. He doesn't control you dad!"_

_Ziddy's father paused and turned his back to her. "This is the path I have chosen."_

_Heartless began to rise from the ground. _

_"Run Ziddy. Run before they catch you."_

_"Why are you doing this!?" Ziddy cried._

_"Run!!"_

_The Heartless targeted the young girl and started after her. After taking one last glance at her father, Ziddy ran up the stairs and down the corridors. She burst through the main doors and ran to the village. Her efforts to escape failed when the Heartless rose from the ground and encircled her._

_"Nemon ecken Ziddy?" one Heartless uttered in its own language._

_"No, I'm not afraid of you."_

_"Tevroo?"_

_"Because you have no power over me." Ziddy whispered._

_An aura of gold light surrounded Ziddy and absorbed into every part of her body. Two white lights appeared in her hands. The white lights soon became two Keyblades. Ziddy twirled the Keyblades in her hands and looked around. The Heartless then attacked. Ziddy slashed through each and every one, leaving her alone in the abandoned village._

_The young girl recoiled as the realization of what had just happened sank in. Fear took over her and she began to run again. This time, she didn't stop. She kept running. Her lungs began to sting as she took in the cold, damp air. Her legs ached and head pounded. She didn't know where she was running to, yet she kept going. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. She had lost everything she had held dear to her. Her cousin had left her. Her father had betrayed her. And she had been given a great power she did not desire. She kept running, hoping that it would make everything go away. Make everything disappear. Be erased from existence. But no matter how hard she ran, none of it could be reversed. Nothing disappeared. Especially the Heartless. _

_They kept rising from the ground and Ziddy kept dodging them within inches. But all hearts must return to darkness. A Heartless rose, and Ziddy fell to the ground. She lay there, motionless. Once again, the Heartless encircled her._

_"Hotena shebeast loni."_

And as the words passed from the Heartless' mouth, Ziddy drifted from her nightmare, returning to a dreamless slumber.

--

Ziddy slowly opened her eyes. She felt grass beneath her and the cool breeze above her. She lifted her head and sat up.

"Ga'morning Miss Ziddy." Donald announced.

Ziddy gazed at the sun. "It's morning already?"

"No." Riku answered, walking toward her from the path. "It's dusk, not dawn."

"You made good timing." Ziddy said, realizing that they had reached the forest.

"Ziddy." Sora smiled, running up to her. "How do you feel?"

"Less tired." she answered. "You didn't go into the forest right?"

"No." Donald answered.

"Why can't we go in ta the forest Miss Ziddy?" Goofy asked.

Ziddy stood up and faced the forest. "It's too dangerous."

"All forests are dangerous in their own ways. What makes this one so different?" Riku questioned, a hint of insult in his tone.

"This forest has a history you could not possibly know of or even comprehend." Ziddy said.

"What's it called?" Sora asked, joining Ziddy at her side.

Ziddy paused for a moment. "Adaman Forest."

"What's the history behind this Adaman Forest?" Riku asked, forgetting that he hated Ziddy for a moment and replaced his hatred with interest.

"This forest was named after…"

"Wait, let me guess. A man named Adaman because he was the only one to ever defeat the great evil that lies within this forest." Sora interrupted, laughing. Riku did the same.

Ziddy turned to him. "Adaman is an ancient creature that is responsible for the creation of the Heartless race."

The two boys fell silent.

Ziddy turned to the forest once again.

"Adaman was born thousands of years ago from the hatred in people's hearts. It resided here in this forest for protection and seclusion. It preyed on helpless animals and mortals that wandered into its realm. Until finally, man became aware of what lies in this forest and stayed clear of it. The animals soon all died out. And Adaman went into sleep. Adaman lay dominant for hundreds of years, until corruption and hatred once again awoke it from its sleep. Adaman could not leave the forest to find prey, so it bred itself. It created children to exit the forest and find prey for it."

"So, the Heartless are Adaman's spawn."

Ziddy nodded. "All was controlled for a time. But soon, Adaman lost control over its children. They spread, multiplied, yet never returned to Adaman. Now, Adaman lies quietly in its forest, awaiting the return of its children so it may feed."

"And if we enter Adaman Forest…" Riku started.

Sora and Riku stared at each other for a moment.

"Yeah, we've changed our minds. The forest is def… definitely not a place to 'accidentally' walk into." Sora finished.

"Say we did enter the forest," Riku posed, "how would we know Adaman when we find it? I mean, what's it look like?"

"What's your greatest fear Riku?" Ziddy asked, continuing to gaze at Adaman Forest.

Riku paused for a moment. "The darkness."

"Then that's what it would look like. The darkness."

"I don't understand." Sora said.

"As soon as you enter that forest, Adaman owns you. It preys upon her mind, finding out your deepest, darkest secrets. And when it finds your greatest fear, it uses it against you. Adaman becomes what you fear the most."

They all stood amazed.

"How do you know all this?" Sora asked, confused and stunned.

Ziddy didn't answer.

"Zid..."

"We should get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us. We'll start in the morning. From dawn on, we have a nine day journey to the door."

"One more question." Riku spoke softly and full of interest. "I thought that the Heartless were created in Hallow Bastion?"

Ziddy nodded. She turned and sat on the grass again. She brought her legs into her chest and placed her chin on her knees. "The Heartless were created for one purpose and one purpose alone: to feed Adaman. When they abandoned Adaman, they really didn't have any other purpose for living. So, the Heartless eventually started to die out. But, the few that survived longer, made it to Hallow Bastion. And that's where... Ansem comes in. He found them, studied them, and began to reconstruct them. He changed what they were made for. Thus, creating a new form of Heartless; the ones we know today."

"How is it that you know all this?" Sora asked, bewildered.

Riku, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had joined Ziddy on the grass. She looked around at each of them. She wanted to tell them how she knew all this. The truth. But why? She had never felt this way before. Or at least, she thought she had never.

'Tell them.' Ansem's voice rang in Ziddy's head. 'Tell them of your gift.'

'I'm not supposed to use my gifts to help them.' Ziddy thought.

'Tell them that's how you know all this. Gain their trust.'

'They'll start asking questions.' Ziddy thought again.

'Then lie. You're good at that my child.' Ansem's voice faded away.

Ziddy paused. "Because I was there."

"What?" Sora asked, thinking he had heard Ziddy wrong.

"I... was there. I watched it happen."

"But, you just said it happened hundreds of years ago. How could you have been there? You're..."

"I'm sixteen."

"Yeah... you couldn't have been there. Unless you're the walking dead or something." Riku finished.

"I'm not dead. I was there." Ziddy reiterated.

"Yeah... but... how?"

Ziddy lifted up her right pant leg to reveal several small symbols that seemed to have been burned into the skin of her ankle. She ran her finger over them and stopped on a symbol that looked like an hour glass. "That one." she said.

"Uh..." Riku replied.

"Are those burned into your skin?" Sora asked, confused and concerned.

"Yeah." Ziddy answered.

"What does it mean?" Goofy asked.

"Well, every time I get a new power, a symbol that represents it is somehow burned into my ankle. This one means that I have Rewind." Ziddy explained.

"What's Rewind?" Donald questioned.

"Rewind means that I can go into the past."

"Come again." Sora said.

"I can go into the past." Ziddy whispered, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Okay, that's it. You're definitely nuts." Riku announced. "I mean crazy. You can go into the past? That's worse than your story of the room in Kingdom Hearts. That story was bull but this is much worse."

"It's true." Ziddy said.

"Uh huh, yeah, sure."

"You wanna see?" Ziddy asked, getting up off the grass. "Come on, I'll show you I'm not lying."

"Fine." Riku agreed, also standing up.

Sora stood up with them. "I wanna see this."

Ziddy grabbed Sora's hand and held onto it. As for Riku, she placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey Donald," she said, "Goofy's got your staff."

Donald let out a very distinctive scream of fury and flung himself onto Goofy. Sora and Riku started to crack up. Ziddy on the other hand kept silent and closed her eyes. The world around the three teenagers seemed to actually rewind. The scenery around them blurred and spun around for a brief moment. When all was returned to normal, Donald let out the same scream and once again pounced on Goofy. The world blurred and spun again. And again, Donald yelled and jumped onto Goofy. After the third time, Ziddy fell to the ground and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and moaned a bit.

"So... there." she whispered.

"How did you do that?" Sora said, his mouth dropped and his eyes wide.

"Eh..." Riku managed to squeak.

"I told you I could go into the past. But no, you didn't believe me." Ziddy panted. "Now, I'm all tired again."

"How did you do that!?" Sora asked again.

"I can..."

"You can go into the past." Riku whispered in amazement. He turned his head to the girl and gazed at her for a moment. "Do it again."

"No. I'm tired. That takes a lot out of me. Takes even more power when I bring people with me." she explained.

"You don't understand. You have to do this again." Riku persisted.

"Why do you wanna see Goofy and Donald wrestle again?"

"No, you need to go back farther."

"Uh?" Ziddy had been overtaken by confusion.

Sora quickly turned to them, realizing what Riku meant. He walked over to Ziddy and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You need to take us back to when I left Kairi."

"Wha?"

"Take us back to when I left Kairi. 'Cause then, I can take her with me and she won't go to Kingdom Hearts and she won't go into that room with you and she'll be alive." Sora explained, becoming excited.

"I... I... I can't do that." Ziddy stuttered.

"Why not!?" Riku protested. "Do you know that this could mean that our friend wouldn't be dead!?"

"She was my friend too...!"

"Then why won't you help!?" Riku yelled, furious.

"Because it won't work!"

"How do you know!?" Sora yelled.

"Because I've tried it before!"

"Oh, sure you have Ziddy. Afraid to, is that it!?" Riku asked.

Ziddy kicked Riku legs and straddled his waist when he hit the ground. She gripped her hands around the boy's throat and squeezed as tightly as she could. "I watched my mother die five times before I realized that I couldn't bring her back!" she screamed. "Don't talk to me about fear boy. I lived through a lot more shit than you could ever comprehend." Ziddy pushed down on Riku's throat one last time before she released him. She lifted her legs over him and stood up.

"Ziddy... we didn't know..." Sora tried to apologize.

"I'm sorry Ziddy." Riku whispered in a raspy voice.

Ziddy faced Adaman Forest and rubbed her eyes.

"Ziddy..." Sora started.

"We need to get some sleep."

And with that, Ziddy sat down on the grass again and wrapped her arms around her legs. Sora sat down where he was and helped Riku sit up. Donald and Goofy joined their side. Donald, Goofy, and Riku lay down and in a few minutes were asleep. Sora was tempted to go sit next to Ziddy and try to comfort her. He didn't though. She was one of those people that was difficult to understand. And what he was starting to feel for her was even harder for him to understand. He lay down on the grass and feel asleep.

--

"Donald... Goofy..."

"Uh?" Donald answered, half asleep.

"Donald. Donald, wake up. Listen." Goofy whispered, shaking the duck.

"Oh, what is it Goofy?" Donald complained, fully awake now.

"D'ya hear that?"

"Hear wh..."

"Donald... Goofy..."

Donald gasped. "That's the king." Donald said, astonished.

"Come on. It's comin' from over there." Goofy said, getting up and walking across the path towards Adaman Forest.

"Goofy, you heard Ziddy. We're not supposed to go in that forest. It's where that monster that made that Heartless lives." Donald said.

"But that's where the king is."

"But we're not..."

"Donald! Goofy!"

Donald and Goofy looked at each other real quick and bolted off into Adaman Forest.

Meanwhile...

'Wake up my child.' Ansem's voice rang inside Ziddy's head.

"I'm... I'm up."

"Shh... you'll wake the idiots up."

Ziddy sat up and shook her head. She slowly opened her eyes and astonishingly enough, they fell upon Ansem.

"Uhh... what are you doing here?" Ziddy whispered, panic in her tone.

"Don't worry. I'm not really here. I'm just... what you'd call... a mirage." Ansem whispered.

"Yeah... okay... sure..." Ziddy murmured. "What are you doing here?"

"Just making sure my little deal is carried out."

"Deal? What deal?" Ziddy asked, fearful of the answer.

"Those idiots from the king were really starting to get on my nerves."

Ziddy looked around and saw that Donald and Goofy were nowhere to be found.

"What did you do Ansem?"

"I've done nothing child. I just made sure they'd be taken care of." Ansem laughed.

"Where are they Ansem? What did you do with them?"

Ansem turned to Adaman Forest. "Beautiful thing, the forest, isn't it my child?"

Ziddy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "You sent them in there?"

"I didn't send them. They were called."

"You mean... You made a deal with Adaman. And now they're in there. You know what Adaman's gonna do to them?" Ziddy said, annoyed and scared.

Ansem did not answer. Instead, he disappeared, leaving Ziddy alone. She looked down at Sora and Riku; they were still sleep thankfully. Panicked, Ziddy abandoned all the rules Ansem had given her and ran into Adaman Forest.

"Donald! Goofy! Where are you guys!?" she yelled, running as fast as she could through the forest.

No answer came. She continued to run, dodging low branches and hurdling over rocks. Ziddy felt all the warmth of her body leave her. She knew that Adaman had spotted her. She was a target now. That did not matter though. She had something Adaman never faced before: the power to control her fear. That played as an advantage to her. She needed to find Donald and Goofy and get them out of there.

"Donald! Goofy! Where are you!?"

"Miss Ziddy!"

Ziddy whipped her head around and ran toward the sound of Goofy's voice. Suddenly, Heartless began to rise from the ground all around her. She kept running. Up ahead was a small clearing. And in the center of that clearing stood Donald and Goofy.

"Guys!!"

"Zid...!"

A burst of light came from the clearing. Ziddy turned her eyes away and stopped. Right before the light disappeared, Ziddy could hear the sounds of Donald and Goofy screaming and a terrible monster's screeching roar. The light disappeared and Ziddy looked back. Donald and Goofy lay on the ground motionless and silent.

"Oh shit." she whispered, beginning to sprint again.

Ziddy skidded to an abrupt stop in from of the two. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. She knelt down beside Donald. She took her pointer and middle finger and placed them on his neck.

"Oh no." she cried as she felt no pulse. She lifted her arms behind her head and rocked back and forth, breathing hard and bawling. Her rage began to build up inside her. She stood up and looked around.

"Adaman! Come and feed again! I'm waiting for you!"

The wind blew through the trees and the full moon shone bright on the clearing. The leaves of the trees rustled. Adaman did not reveal itself.

"Adaman!"

Heartless began to rise from the ground once again. They encircled the teenager. Ziddy began to hear a very familiar conversation in her head. It started out soft, but grew louder every second.

_"Nemon ecken Ziddy?" _

_"No, I'm not afraid of you."_

_"Tevroo?"_

_"Because you have no power over me."_

Ziddy stepped back in fear. She covered her ears, hoping to block out the voices. They kept sounding in her head. Now, the Heartless were repeating a phrase Ziddy knew and feared all too well: _Hotena shebeast loni. Hotena shebeast loni. Hotena shebeast loni!_

Ziddy shook her head and the voices disappeared as well did the Heartless. She looked down at Donald and Goofy in complete defeat.

"I'm sorry guys." she sighed, holding in the tears.

Sora and Riku stood on the edge of the forest.

"Why do you think she went in there?" Sora asked, scared of what might have happened to Ziddy.

"I don't know. Why the hell would Donald and Goofy follow her?" Riku answered.

"Look!"

Ziddy walked out of the forest, Donald and Goofy floating in the air behind her.

"Where the hell did you three go!?" Sora yelled.

"What happened to the whole Adaman monster thing!?"

Ziddy remained silent. She stopped on the other side of the path where Riku and Sora were, and Donald and Goofy were laid down on the grass.

"Donald? Goofy?" Sora whispered, becoming overwhelmed in confusion and terror.

"What's wrong with them?" Riku asked.

Ziddy paused. "They're dead." she said quickly. "Adaman got to them before I could."

Sora stumbled backwards and Riku swallowed air. The two boys went to Donald and Goofy's side and knelt down next to them.

"Goofy?" Riku whispered, shaking the knight.

"Donald? Wake up." Sora whimpered, doing the same to Donald.

Ziddy fell to her knees and began to cry. "I couldn't save them." she cried. "I couldn't save them."

That is how the three teenagers spent that night. Riku cried over Goofy's body. Sora kept trying to wake Donald up. And Ziddy kept repeating the fact that she could not save them. This would only be the beginning to Ansem's returning terror and the grief of three teenagers trying to save what was left of the worlds.

AN: Yet another very depressing chapter. Ah well, 'tis life. I hope you guys like A Darkened Light so far. PLEASE keep reading. Not to brag, but a lot of cool stuff happens in this fanfic. Hope you'll like it. Well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading for me to find out. See ya next chapter.


	4. Forgotten Emotions

_**Ch. 4: Forgotten Emotions**_

_Old characters from the game are not mine, they belong to SquareSoft and Disney. All others are mine._

Sora wiped the dirt from his hands and joined Ziddy and Riku. Ziddy stood silent, her hood covering her tearing eyes, her hands in her pockets, and her head on Riku's shoulder. Riku had his arm wrapped around the girl, his chin placed on her head. Sora came up next to Ziddy and put his arm around her waist. The three stood there staring down at the graves of their lost friends.

"Arnardai padree. Shushana qelheso pestroo." Ziddy whispered.

"What's that?" Sora whimpered.

Ziddy picked her head up. "A farewell prayer."

"What language is it?" Riku asked.

The girl paused. "You would't know the language. It's... it's an ancient one that fell into nonexistence long ago."

"Keep going." Sora whispered, gazing at Ziddy. He was having that feeling again.

"Eknan tenel seniies. Lumberdayi weless. Eneko taon Donald and Goofy. Eneko taon."

"Eneko taon." Sora repeated.

Riku followed. "Eneko taon."

Ziddy took a few deep breaths. "We should... get going."

Riku nodded and stepped forward. "Bye Donald So long Goofy." he said, then began to walk down the path.

"See ya guys." Sora muttered and went to join Riku.

Ziddy stared at the graves with fury and horror. She had helped this happen. What could she say? She let them die while she could have done something. She bowed her head in grief and walked away as well.

Donald and Goofy lay peacefully in their graves. Above Goofy, his faithful shield leaned up against his tombstone. Above Donald, lay his staff atop the dirt next to his tombstone. No fancy inscriptions had been carved into the tombstones; a few simple words were all that were needed.

"Here lies Donald Duck. Powerful magician and faithful servant/friend to the one and only true king of all worlds, King Mickey. Died while trying to restore peace and order to shattered lives."

"Here lies Goofy. Valiant knight and faithful servant/friend to the one and only true king of all worlds, King Mickey. Died while trying to restore peace and order to shattered lives."

--

Ziddy sat up, watching Sora and Riku sleep. Fury pulsed through her. Suddenly, she began to feel very weak and sleepy. Then next thing she knew, she was falling onto the grass. When Ziddy reopened her eyes, she stood in the castle of Kingdom Hearts.

"You're doing well my child. I especially enjoyed the lie about how you knew about Adaman."

Ziddy turned and found Ansem sitting on his black thrown.

"Don't worry. Even is they do wake up, they won't notice you're gone. I only brought your mind here; your body is still there."

"None of the innocents were supposed to die." the young teenager voiced in hatred.

"Oh come now child. Didn't you say yourself that you wanted to kill one of them?" the man laughed.

"I ask you that question every time you send my out on orders. Do I ever mean it!?"

Ansem paused, astounded by the girl's newly acquired resistance.

"That Sora, he's beginning to like you, you know?" he said, changing the subject.

"Yes, I've noticed. And I've been doing exactly what you said: I've been ignoring it." Ziddy answered, her tone a sarcastic one.

"Yes, well, I'm changing my mind. Give into him. Let him love you. It'll only bring upon more pain when you betray him in the end."

Ziddy unintentionally formed fists and tightened them. Her fury built up stronger by the minute.

"One day Ansem. One day." she muttered.

"Yes, I sure of it my dear."

Ziddy quickly closed and opened her eyes, only to find herself back where she started. She stood up and gazed into the darkness. She cast her eyes down toward Sora and Riku again. She did not want Sora to love her. He would just get hurt. She was beginning to realize that that was not what she wanted anymore. What she wanted came at too great of a price and she was not willing to give that up.

Ziddy stepped away from the two boys and leaned up against a tree. She pulled her hood over her eyes and faced the opposite direction. She looked out into the darkness for quite a long time until she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder. Ziddy removed her hood and pulled back her blonde braids to see who it was.

"Are you all right?" Sora asked, quietly.

She nodded.

Sora lowered his hand and stood beside her. "Ziddy. Ziddy, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you."

'Oh shit. Don't do this Sora. Don't do this to yourself.' she thought.

"What is it?"

Sora cleared his throat. "Well, I know that we've only known each other for a few days, but I can't help it. There's just something about you that… well… do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Sora," Ziddy whispered, "it would be best if you cast all feelings you have toward me out of your mind and out of your heart."

"I can't. I think I love you."

The words sank in Ziddy's stomach. "I could not give you the same feeling in return. And besides, you love Kairi."

Sora lowered his head. "Kairi's dead. I've accepted that…"

"In you mind. But not your heart." Ziddy interrupted.

"Kairi is dead. She's not coming back. I love _you_ Ziddy."

"Only because I remind you of her." Ziddy fumed, walking away from Sora.

Sora grabbed onto Ziddy's arm and pulled her back. He placed his hand on her cheek.

"Ziddy, I love you because you're… you. Because of the way you see the world. Because of the way you've gotten through life even though it's screwed you over. Because… because of the way you smile." He placed his other hand on Ziddy's cheek and smiled.

Ziddy's eyes weld up in tears. "Please don't do this Sora. You'll only wind up getting hurt." she cried softly. "Please."

"I won't get hurt. I promise you that." Sora whispered. He leaned in and placed his lips on Ziddy's. He remained there for a moment, then backed away slowly.

Ziddy opened her eyes. "There's still time for you to turn back." she murmured.

"I don't want to turn back." Sora smiled, leaning in again.

Ziddy did not allow Sora to let go of her so quickly this time. She wrapped her arms around Sora's neck as he placed his hands on her waist. Ziddy had never felt this before. Or at least she thought she had never. She had forgotten how to love a long time ago. This was all new to her. The thought of not only giving love, but having love in return was something she thought to be nonexistent. She had always wished for it but never received it. Now that she had the love of another, there was only one problem. Ziddy wasn't sure that she had the love for this person that he had for her. Did she love Sora back or was she just doing this to satisfy Ansem? She thought she loved him. But then again, she did forget how to love. Maybe this wasn't where her love really laid. For a moment, another name crossed her mind, but she cast it away before long. That didn't matter though. Ziddy was going to take this love and accept it. It would be, in her mind, the only love she would ever truly get.

Sora backed away and smiled again. "All right?"

Ziddy nodded, a small smile forming on her lips.

Sora lowered his head and laughed silently. "Should we tell Riku?"

Ziddy paused.

"Riku is not here at the moment. Whatever you have to tell him can wait until normal hours. And if you don't mind, I really don't wanna fall asleep to the sound of you two… doing whatever you're doing." Riku announced, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to look as though he was still asleep.

"Well, that was certainly easier than I thought it was going to be." Sora laughed, looking over at Riku.

Ziddy silently laughed as well. She placed a quick kiss on Sora's lips and sat down on the grass. Sora sat behind her and leaned up against the tree. Ziddy leaned back against him. Within a few minutes, the two teenagers fell asleep in each other's arms.

--

_"Tell me Ziddy, do you really love him?"_

"I don't know."

_"Do you even remember what love is?"_

"Not really."

_"Do you remember what happens to the people you love?"_

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember."

_"Do you want that to happen to him?"_

"No. And it won't happen to him. I'm gonna make sure of it."

_"How are you gonna do that?"_

"I'm not sure. But I won't let him go."

_"Just like you wouldn't let your father go?"_

"That was different."

_"How? Tell me how it was different Ziddy."_

"He gave in. He didn't want me to save him."

_"So you let him go?"_

"There was nothing I could do."

_"Is that what you tell yourself when your dreams drift back to that day and you remember the pain and lose you felt?"_

"I'm not listening to this anymore."

_"Is that what you tell yourself when you see what you've become?"_

"Not listening."

_"Is that what you tell yourself in the darkness when you realize that you could have saved him?"_

"Not listening!"

"Who are you talking to girl?"

Ziddy whipped her head around and saw Riku standing behind her.

"How long have you been there?" she asked, jumping back.

"Since 'That was different'. Were talking to yourself?" Riku asked, stepping forward. He knew that Ziddy was a nut case, but this was a little too much.

"Maybe…" Ziddy squeaked, backing up.

"I knew you were nuts." Riku nodded. He plopped down on the grass right where Ziddy had been sitting moments before.

"Yes, you repeatedly inform me upon that." Ziddy said as she stood next to the silver hairedboy.

Riku laughed. "Your head's screwed up."

"And you're just noticing this now?"

He laughed again. "No, I kinda knew that from the beginning."

Ziddy smiled. "What is it that you want Riku?"

"I wanna ask you a question."

"Sure." Ziddy sat down next to Riku.

He took a deep breath, his expression becoming very serious. "Do you love him?"

Ziddy didn't answer right away. Quite frankly, she didn't know herself. She had to say something though.

"Yes."

"That's all I wanted to know. Just don't hurt him, okay? He loved Kairi very much. I don't want to see him lose another loved one so soon." Riku voiced.

"I promise." Ziddy whispered solemnly.

Riku turned his eyes to the girl. "You're a lot different from when we first met."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yes." Riku smiled.

Ziddy looked back at Riku. "Well then, I'll try to remember that."

'She's not so bad to be around.'

'He's not so bad to be around.' Ziddy turned her head away from Riku, remembering that she loved Sora and she wasn't about to go mess that up.

Riku felt the pit of his stomach twitch. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be feeling this. But, this is how it felt before. Exactly how it felt. Nothing else felt like this. Only… but he couldn't be. This was Sora's girl. Besides, he hated her; the complete opposite of what he thought he was feeling. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he really did… no. And yet, yes.

'I can't be doing this.' Riku thought, angered with himself. 'Sora loves her and she loves him right back. You can't feel this about her. Any other girl would have been fine. Why did you have to pick her to get this feeling again? You can't.' He looked over at Ziddy again. 'But I do. I...'

Suddenly, Sora came from behind and leapt onto Ziddy. The two rolled on the grass a bit, Riku watching from a safe distance. This was the first time in a while that Riku saw Sora truly smile.

"Get off of me." Ziddy threatened, laughing hysterically.

"What if I don't want to?" Sora asked, smiling at her.

"Then I'm not watching this!" Riku yelled.

"And you say my head is screwed up!" Ziddy yelled back.

"Is it!"

Sora got up off of Ziddy and helped her to her feet.

"Well, now that you two love birds are finished, do you think we can get back to searching for the door?" Riku questioned.

"Don't worry Riku. We'll be there within a day or two." Ziddy assured her friend.

"Let's get going then."

The three returned to the path and began to walk. Sora held Ziddy's hand as they walked. Riku stood beside Ziddy, keeping them laughing the whole way. Ziddy never felt happier. On one side, she had a new found friend. On the other side was the man that loved her. All was right. And that scared Ziddy. Nothing good ever followed something that was already too good to be true. That was the story of her life. On the outside, she laughed and smiled. But on the inside, Ziddy paniced and feared for the two boys' lives. Ziddy let the feeling pass. She was fine now and that's all that mattered.

--

Ansem strode up and down the floor of his thrown room. His thoughts raced through his mind millions of miles a second.

"She's not faking this." he gritted, furious with the young teenager. "She's beginning to remember the feeling of love. And if she does," Ansem paused, "she'll turn on me. She'll accept the fact that her father isn't coming back and take this new love and run with it. She knows the way to the door. She can help that fool Sora defeat me once and for all. And even more, she has those two Keyblades. If she figures out how to restore them to the light… I'm doomed."

Ansem halted and sat down. In a sudden burst of fury, he slammed his fist against the arm of the chair.

"I won't let that happen."

'I think you're having a bit too much fun.' Ansem's voice rang inside Ziddy's head once again. 'Now I'll have to punish you.'

Three Heartless as tall as a man rose from the dirt path in front of them. Both Sora and Riku stepped in front of Ziddy to protect her. Sora reached down and pulled out the Keyblade.

"Riku, stay with Ziddy. Make sure they don't touch her." Sora demanded. The young teenager charged at the Heartless and sliced through them all too easily.

"Something's not right here. Heartless don't get defeated that quickly. And even if they do, they at least try to put up a fight." Ziddy said.

'You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you?'

The sky turned dark and the winds picked up. Ziddy looked around in horror as a scene from her past seemed to replay itself right in front of her. Heartless began to rise from the ground all around the three teenagers. They encircled Ziddy, Sora, and Riku. Ziddy's terror grew. Sora and Riku tried to keep themselves between Ziddy and the Heartless, but more appeared every second.

Ziddy watched as a very familiar looking Heartless rose from the ground. It stood at at least six feet and was a foggy-gray color. On its chest was imprinted the Heartless symbol. This Heartless stepped forward.

"Nemon ecken Ziddy?" The Heartless mused in its own dark language.

She remained behind Sora and Riku, staring straight at the Heartless. She could feel her heart pounded in her chest as she realized what she had to do.

"No, I'm not afraid of you."

"Ziddy, what are you doing?" Sora asked, wondering why on earth Ziddy was _talking_ to a Heartless.

She turned to Sora and touched his shoulder with her pointer and middle finger. A light surrounded Sora and created a barrier. She did the same to Riku, and another barrier was created. When the two boys tried to walk out of it, the light prevented them; making sure nothing went out and nothing came in.

"Ziddy, you can't fight them all off by yourself!" Riku yelled, watching the girl step forward.

"Tervoo?" the Heartless asked.

Ziddy looked around again at the many Heartless surrounding her. Here eyes returned to the gray Heartless and she answered its question with a mischievous smile.

"Because you have no power over me."

From inside her cloak, Ziddy pulled out her two black Keyblades. She twirled them around in her hands, eager for the first attack. Sora and Riku watched as the young woman killed off one Heartless after another. Soon, only she and the gray Heartless were left standing.

"Elshen kavayok Ziddy?" the Heartless asked. _("Now what will you do Ziddy?")_

"Hekanee saseen aset Necolekon?" Ziddy answered. _("Do you honestly not know Necolekon?")_

The Heartless seemed to laugh at this comment. "Ziddy, Ziddy, Ziddy."

"Necolekon, Necolekon, Necolekon."

"Rabet zefem elgeuest. Ecken nemon." Necolekon said. _("You won't do it. You're scared.")_

"Hesben setafair hettai." she fumed. _("You took away my entire life.")_

"Oten kaykerok." _("That was your father's doing.")_

"Pedeskin pisskeloff!" Ziddy yelled, furious. _("Filthy, worthless piece of shit!")_

"Pedeskin pisskeloff. Ziddy, vencel pedeskin pisskeloff? Jeziel yonbay dempad gebeet." Necolekon questioned. _("Filthy, worthless piece of shit. Ziddy, are you sure I'm the filthy, worthless piece of shit? I'm not the one who betrayed you.")_

Ziddy's fury grew.

"Jafeyzel Necolekon." she whispered.

Ziddy reared her arm back and threw one of her Keyblades into Necolekon, causing the Heartless to disappear into thousands of specs of dust. She closed her eyes as the Keyblade dropped to the ground.

"Ethen solo."

--

"So, when were you going to tell us you could speak to Heartless?" Riku asked, trying catch up to Ziddy.

"I was hoping to just neglect that fact and move on with my life." Ziddy vented, storming off down the path.

"Just out of curiosity, were you calling that Heartless by a name?"

"Its name was Necolekon." Ziddy answered.

"Ziddy stop." Sora said.

She halted, keeping her back to the two boys. She took a deep breath.

"It's one of my powers. That's why I have a Heartless' head burned into my ankle. I have the power to speak with Heartless."

"Fine. That's all we wanted to know." said Sora.

"Did you know that Heartless? Is that how you knew its name?" Riku asked, his tone softened.

"I knew Necolekon a long time ago. Necolekon was the one that sent me to Kingdom Hearts." Ziddy voiced, finally turning around.

Sora stepped up to her and placed his arms around her.

"We'll never mention it again." He leaned in and kissed Ziddy.

Riku stood where he was behind the two, wishing that he could be Sora just for that moment.

Ziddy… well… Ziddy wished this could all just be over.

AN: Poor Riku. Poor Sora. Poor Ziddy. Damn, I'm really mean to my characters. I love it! LOL. Keep reading please!!!!!


	5. Truths

_**Ch. 5: Truths**_

_The newer characters that weren't in the game are mine and all the others belong to SquareSoft and Disney._

_The young girl recoiled as the realization of what had just happened sank in. Fear took over her and she began to run again. This time, she didn't stop. She kept running. Her lungs began to sting as she took in the cold, damp air. Her legs ached and head pounded. She didn't know where she was running to, yet she kept going. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. She had lost everything she had held dear to her. Her cousin had left her. Her father had betrayed her. And she had been given a great power she did not desire. She kept running, hoping that it would make everything go away. Make everything disappear. Be erased from existence. But no matter how hard she ran, none of it could be reversed. Nothing disappeared. Especially the Heartless. _

_They kept rising from the ground and Ziddy kept dodging them within inches. But all hearts must return to darkness. A Heartless rose, and Ziddy fell to the ground. She lay there, motionless. Once again, the Heartless encircled her._

_"Hotena shebeast loni."_

_Ziddy opened her eyes for the first time in days. She looked around helplessly, searching for something to tell her where she was. It was dark. It was cold too. So cold, she could see her breath and hear her teeth chattering together. This was somewhere she had never been before. It felt empty. She stood up, in hope that something other than the darkness would catch her eye. And that something did._

_Ziddy approached what seemed to be a boy. His back was to her. She crept closer, wishing he would be able to help her._

_"Hotena shebeast loni." he asid._

_"What?" Ziddy questioned._

_"All hearts return to the darkness. Do you not know the language of the Heartless?" he kept his back to the girl._

_"I know it all too well. What is this place?" _

_The boy gave a small chuckle. "Have I not told you? Hotena shebeast loni."_

_"All hearts return to the darkness. That doesn't tell me where I am."_

_The boy sprung up and grasped his hand around Ziddy's throat. "The darkness. The darkness is where you are." he whispered. He released her throat and backed away. "Welcome to Kingdom Hearts."_

_Ziddy recoiled in fear. She quickly placed her hand on her chest. There was no beat. She placed her two fingers on her throat. There was no pulse. She was without a heart. Ziddy had become a Heartless trapped within Kingdom Hearts. "How does one escape from here?"_

_"Hm, escape? It would be a lot easier if you were on the outside." the boy mused._

_"On the outside? What do you mean?"_

_"You currently reside in the room."_

_Ziddy paused. "The room? What's the room?"_

_"This is the room in the castle of Kingdom Hearts where the most precious of hearts are kept." the boy answered._

_"Most precious of hearts? Why am I here then?"_

_"You hold a great power Ziddy." the boy said. "You are the one who will lead the Keyblade master to the door to the light."_

_--_

The sweat ran down Ziddy's flesh. She jumped from her sleep and her eyes darted about the darkness. Riku snored loudly, lying only a few feet away from her. Sora lay next to her, the same glistening sweat pouring down his skin as he tossed and turned. Ziddy watched the boy sleep, his breathing quickening each moment that passed.

"Kairi…" Sora whimpered.

Ziddy looked toward the horizon. Only a few hours away. This would only last for another few hours.

"Kairi…" Sora whimpered a second time.

Ziddy got up slowly as to not disturb the boy next to her. She waved her hand over Sora's body, releasing a kind of gold dust.

"Sleep and worry no more Sora." She whispered.

With that, Sora quieted. The young woman walked over to the nearest tree and leaned up against it. She stared back at the horizon.

_"This is the room in the castle of Kingdom Hearts where the most precious of hearts are kept.""Most precious of hearts? Why am I here then?"_

_"You hold a great power Ziddy. You are the one who will lead the Keyblade master to the door to the light."_

"You are the one who will lead the Keyblade master to the door of the light." She breathed silently. "One that is born to great royalty but will lose it all. One that knows the greatest of love and will learn the greatest of loss. One that believes in such trust yet knows nothing but betrayal. One that will understand both the living and the dead, the heartfull and the heartless. One that will lead the true Keyblade master to the door of the light. One that will guard the door to the light. One that will change the fate of all powers of light and dark. The one. The only. So it is prophesized, so it shall be."

"Belesta quando Ziddy."

Ziddy turned to see one of the Heartless guards from Ansem's palace.

_"What do you want?"_ She questioned in the dark language.

_"Master Ansem sends word."_ It replied.

_"Is that so? Regale me, what does the great Ansem say?"_

The Heartless paused, knowing it would annoy the young woman.

_"Speak now or die."_ Ziddy threatened, her gaze still toward the horizon.

The Heartless gave a small squeak of a laugh. _"Master Ansem says to stop stalling and get to the door. Do the job you were blessed with and finish it for good."_

With that message, the guard disappeared into the ground.

"Blessed?" Ziddy mused, lifting her eyes to the sky. "If this is a blessing, I welcome eternal damnation in the next life."She said to the stars, her anger growing. "You want me to finish it? You want me to do my job?"

"Who are you talking to woman?"

Ziddy whipped her head around to find Riku standing behind her.

"Every time I find you alone you're always talking to the wind or the stars." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"I… erm… well I was just… aa…." Ziddy stuttered. How much had he heard? Had he seen the Heartless guard?

"Don't explain, I fear I'll become even more confused." He laughed, approaching the young woman. "So, what are you doing up at this late hour miss?"

Ziddy smiled. "None of your business."

"All right then." Riku placed his hand up against the tree and leaned over Ziddy. "I can't sleep either." He said, giving off an awkward smile.

Ziddy put her back up against the tree. "I never said I couldn't sleep."

"You may not have said it, but your eyes gave it away."

Ziddy could not resist the urge to give a small giggle. "Is that so?"

"Oh definitely." Riku replied, leaning in closer.

Ziddy felt her heart leap. Her skin heated as he drew closer. She felt her legs become weak with a sensation she had never felt before.

"We shouldn't do this." She whispered, her breathing becoming louder and harder.

"No we shouldn't." Riku smiled, still drawing closer to her.

"Sora-"

"Will never know." He finished.

"We still shouldn't." Ziddy repeated as the pit of her stomach gave off such an odd sensation that only made her want Riku more.

"I know." Riku breathed, stopping only an inch away from Ziddy. "That's why you're not pushing me away."

The sensation rushed from her stomach through her entire body. Grabbing the back of the boy's neck, she pulled him in and laid her lips upon his. Ziddy had never felt anything like that. It was different from the feelings she experienced when Sora has kissed just a few days ago. She felt as if her heart had burst within her and pieces were flowing through her blood to every part of her body. And as the pieces came to each of muscles, such pain and pleasure engulfed her. Riku placed a hand on the small of the girl's back. Try as hard as she could, Ziddy could not find a reason why Riku's kiss felt so familiar. This was only her second passionate kiss of her life and there was something about it that gave off a sense of resemblance.

Ziddy stepped back into the tree, lightly shoving Riku away from her. He looked the same, yet didn't at the same time. Something felt wrong.

"What's wrong?" he asked, smiling.

Ziddy stared at the boy. But try as she could, she could not see any differences in him. Until she caught his smile. That smile she knew all too well. Her pain and pleasure were instantly replaced with anger and hatred. Ziddy placed her palms on Riku's chest and pushed away. White light burst from her hands and Riku was sent soaring into the air. The loud thud his body made when it collided with the earth woke Sora with a start.

"What's going on?" Sora asked as his eyesight came into focus.

"What the hell was that for!?" Riku yelled, picking himself up from the ground.

Ziddy moved her eyes from Riku to Sora and back to Riku.

"Jeeshno haruba." She spewed.

Riku and Sora's chests snapped forward. From each young man, a glowing sphere popped out. The spheres floated above the two boys for a moment before Ziddy burst with fury. The young woman threw two flame balls at the spheres and they exploded immediately. Riku and Sora stared at the pieces of spheres that had just come from their chests and their mouths dropped.

"What the hell was that?" Riku whispered, placing his hand under Sora's chin and closing his mouth.

"Okay, you wanna play dirty?" Ziddy asked.

"What?" Sora said, looking over at her.

"Let's play dirty."

"This doesn't sound good." Riku whispered.

Ziddy strode over to Sora and knocked him down to his knees.

"Ziddy, what are you doing?" Riku questioned, trying to pull Ziddy away from Sora.

The young woman placed her fingertips on Sora's temples. Before Sora could squirm away or Riku could snatch her away, Ziddy's head reared back and she let out a scream of pain.

The world blurred and spun around her. She traveled days into Sora's past. Then weeks. Then more. Finally letting go of her power, Ziddy found herself in front of two huge white doors. She remembered these doors; she'd seen them many times over the passed few months. These were the doors that led to her current home: the castle within Kingdom Hearts. Ziddy glanced at her surroundings until her crystal maroon eyes fell upon Sora and Kairi.

"Kairi!"

"Sora! Umph…"

She watched as the two joined hands and the ground between them began to separate.

"Wait for it." Ziddy breathed, trying to stay out of their line of sight as well as avoiding Donald and Goofy.

"Kairi, remember what you said before. I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"

The ground continued to split.

"And… now." Ziddy began to run toward the two.

"I know you will!"

Their hands were pulled apart and they drifted further away from each other. Ziddy ran straight at them. Before Kairi drifted too far away, Ziddy leapt from where Sora stood onto the sandy ground Kairi was on.

"What the hell?" Sora asked.

"Ziddy? What are you doing here?" Kairi asked just as confused as Sora.

"Kairi, you need to trust this time." Ziddy held her hand out to the young girl.

Kairi took Ziddy's hand and allowed her to pull her in close. Ziddy wrapped her arms around the red-head and looked over at Sora. Tears fell from his eyes.

"I don't understand! What's going on!?" Sora yelled.

Ziddy reached into her pocket and pulled out a small blue vial of liquid. She tossed it over to Sora, who caught it and stared at it in even more confusion than ever before.

"What is that?" Kairi whispered, clinging onto Ziddy.

"Something to calm his mind. I'm not going to hurt him anymore Kairi." She whispered, laying her cheek on the other girl's head. "We need to go now."

Kairi nodded. "Okay."

Ziddy shut her eyes tightly, allowing her magic to take control of her again. In an instant, the two young women disappeared into the shadows. Sora watched as they vanished. The vial in his hand began to heat up. He glanced down at the vial. On it was an inscription. Out of pure curiosity, Sora read it aloud.

"Memory gone, forgotten this… until a time, will bring you bliss."

As soon the words were done, the small blue glass shattered. The glass did not penetrate the boy's skin though. It didn't even hurt. White smoke rose from the shattered pieces of glass, surrounding Sora's body. He inhaled deeply, taking in the awkward smelling smoke.

Ziddy fell onto the ground where she had left Riku and present-day Sora, landing on her hands and knees.

"Ziddy?" Riku started to move toward her, but stopped as she began to vomit uncontrollably.

Just as soon as Ziddy began to vomit, another form appeared a few feet away. Kairi stumbled to her feet, shaking her head as though it ached. Sora and Riku looked over at who had arrived along with Ziddy. Their mouths dropped and their eyes began to weld up with fresh tears.

"Boys…" Kairi whispered and moved toward Riku. But then her eyes fell upon Ziddy, who was still vomiting. "Ziddy…"

Kairi ran to her and came to her knees. Ziddy held back the vomit, feeling Kairi's hand on the back of her neck. She picked up her head, and smiled the best she could. Tears came to Kairi's eyes.

"What did you do?" she whimpered, seeing how much pain Ziddy was in.

"We don't have much time." Ziddy said, spitting out small amounts of vomit. She tried lifting herself from the ground, but failed. "I need you to help me up."

Kairi assisted Ziddy to her feet and allowed her to put most of her weight on her.

"I don't understand. I thought you said she was dead." Riku cried softly.

"She was." Ziddy answered.

"How come I remember all that?" Kairi asked, looking at Ziddy.

"I'll explain later." Ziddy let go of Kairi and balanced herself as best she could.

Ziddy unsheathed her Keyblades and tossed one to both Sora and Riku.

"Why?" Sora whispered, tears still falling from his eyes.

"Because what I'm about to tell is going to make you really mad." Ziddy knelt down on both knees and spread her arms to the sides. "I'm hoping that in doing this you won't attack me until after I'm through with the entire story."

"How is she here? Where did you go?" Riku asked, chocking back the urge to cry uncontrollably.

"Into Sora's past. I took Kairi forward with me the day the doors closed after you defeated Ansem." Ziddy explained.

Sora's eyes widened. "Memory gone, forgotten this until a time, will bring you bliss."

"Oh I'm good at this potion shit." Ziddy breathed, a wave of pain causing her to sway.

"You disappeared with Kairi. The weird smelling smoke." Sora stumbled over his sentences, barely making any sense.

"You weren't meant to remember until this moment. I couldn't have you go searching for Kairi and the strange looking girl who took her. Everything after that moment when the vial exploded had to be the same so it would lead you here exactly how it was before."

"I remember now."

"Listen, we don't have much time. He'll soon find out what I've don't and he'll come after me." Ziddy began to panic. What had she done?

"Who?" Riku snapped, annoyed by all the mystery.

Ziddy paused, hanging her head.

"Ziddy, don't tell me you're still obeying him." Kairi sobbed.

"Him who?"

Ziddy took a deep breath and shut her eyes. "Ansem."

"Ansem's gone." Sora said.

"No. He currently resides in the castle within Kingdom Hearts. The Heartless recognized him as a creator and allowed him to take control. He's still weak, but he's slowly getting back his strength and powers."

"What did she mean by still obeying him?"

Ziddy opened her eyes. "I'm working for Ansem. I was sent to bring you to the door so he could destroy you and take control over the light as well."

Riku and Sora stepped back in shock.

"Now you see why she gave you her Keyblades?"

"Kairi, how could you-"

"Listen to what she has to say." Kairi demanded.

"Didn't you hear what she just said!?" Riku yelled in anger.

"Yes. And now you're going to listen to the rest of the story."

Kairi placed a hand on Ziddy's shoulder.

"When I was young, my father was unwillingly taken control of by Ansem. Ansem used my father to manipulate the Heartless. He even used the dungeons of the castle we lived in for his experiments. One day, he tried to experiment on my cousin and me. My cousin lived with us for a time. My father didn't allow Ansem to use me, but reached my cousin while Ansem was half way through the experiment. After that, my cousin moved far away to a small island where she befriended two young boys."

"Kairi?" Sora looked up at the red-headed girl in disbelief.

She nodded. "Ziddy is my cousin."

Ziddy continued. "A few weeks later, the Heartless completely consumed my father. That day, I was given a very special gift: the power of both light and darkness. It's an old prophesy. One that is born to great royalty but will lose it all. One that knows the greatest of love and will learn the greatest of loss. One that believes in such trust yet knows nothing but betrayal. One that will understand both the living and the dead, the heartfull and the heartless. One that will lead the true Keyblade master to the door of the light. One that will guard the door to the light. One that will change the fate of all powers of light and dark. The one. The only. So it is prophesized, so it shall be."

"Wh… what?" Sora stuttered.

"I was meant to guide the Keyblade to the door to the light. And I'm always supposed to protect it against you. Do you understand why I said the grey side now?"

Sora and Riku did not respond. This was all too much to take in.

"What about the room? You said you were trapped in the room with Kairi." Riku finally asked.

"That was my heart. The day I was given my gift was the day my heart was stolen by Necolekon."

"And the dream? With Kairi and the gold light?" Sora posed.

"That was me. I brought Kairi to Ansem that night. Well, my shell did at least."

"The spheres?"

"A love charm. Ansem must have cast it."

"Why?" Kairi asked.

"To make the betrayal more unbearable."

"Donald and Goofy?"

"I had nothing to do with that." Ziddy snapped. "That was all Ansem's dealing."

"Dealing? What do you mean dealing?" Sora grumbled.

Ziddy breathed deeply before answering. "Ansem made a deal with Adaman to get rid of Donald and Goofy because they were getting on his nerves."

Silence fell for a short time.

"Why?" Sora whimpered.

"It was the only way I was ever going to get my father back." Ziddy sobbed quietly.

"All this time, you were doing nothing but lying."

"Well I'm not lying now."

A few feet away, a small Heartless appeared. Ziddy nearly fell backwards upon seeing the Shadow.

"Ziddy, quanta sorro?" the Heartless asked.

"Ansem hescaba zinnia?" she asked in return.

"Telak."

"Mence." Ziddy whispered and from the palm of her hand came a ball of ice that shattered the tiny Heartless. "He'll send more once that one doesn't return. He'll come after me. He'll kill you two and take Kairi back to the room."

"Was anything you said the truth?" Riku spoke soft, his voice filled with pain.

Ziddy reached her arms out to Kairi. Kairi grabbed her cousin and helped her to her feet.

"Anything?" he repeated.

"You have to run." Ziddy stumbled as she attempted to stand on her own.

"We're not leaving you here." Kairi retorted.

"Like hell we aren't." Sora snapped.

"She's risking her life for you! She's giving up her father to save you!"

Ziddy motioned her to be silent and the young woman complied.

"Don't get caught. Whatever you do don't get caught. If Ansem finds you, it'll all be over." Ziddy reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial filled with green liquid. She handed the vial to Kairi. "Take this and use it if you get into any trouble. Just throw it down on the ground."

"Zid-"

"Kairi, do what I tell you please. Now, do you remember any words in the Heartless language?"

"What are you talking about?" Sora interrupted, but his question was ignored.

"I think so." Kairi answered.

"Kairi, are you mad?"

"Do you remember the rhyme we used to say when we were young?"

Kairi nodded.

"If you use the vial and they're still coming, say the rhyme. It'll make them go away."

"How?"

"I can't believe this." Riku said, becoming impatient.

"Just trust me."

"What's gonna happen to you?" Kairi asked, tears falling from her eyes.

"Oh, I'll be fine. With me, Ansem won't be able to focus mainly on you three. He'll be distracted, giving you just enough time to get away."

Kairi let go of Ziddy and moved over to Riku and Sora. Riku looked at Ziddy in such hatred and confusion and Sora did the same. Although he looked at her this way, it was not how Sora really felt. Somewhere inside, maybe unconsciously, he knew what Ziddy was doing for him and he thanked her for it. Even after she had explained everything, he could not hate her. But fear is a powerful thing that leads to confusion and hatred. So he looked at her like that, although it was not what he really felt.

"Think of it as the only dissent thing I've done for you guys since I came along." Ziddy smiled slightly.

Kairi touched the boys on the shoulders and they turned around. Riku felt his stomach drop. He wanted so to be mad at Ziddy for what she had done, but no matter what kind of act he put on outside, inside he could not lie to himself. Feeling that way felt wrong though; after everything she had done, he did not know how he could feel this way about her and that confused him. It scared him.

'It was only a love charm…' he kept telling himself, thinking it would help.

It didn't.  
Ziddy watched as the three moved further away from her.

"I'm gonna be in so much trouble." Ziddy said to herself.

As soon as Kairi, Sora, and Riku were far enough away from her, Ziddy placed her hand on her heart.

_"What's been kept safe inside of me… What doesn't belong, return to thee."_

Ziddy's hand began to glow a bright red. Pulling her hand away slowly, something seemed to emerge from her chest. She faced her palm to the three, focusing on Sora. The red light pulsed in the young woman's hand. Letting out a quiet yelp of pain, Ziddy fired the red light toward Sora. The light traveled quickly to its destination. Sora fell forward as the light impacted with his body. He felt something begin to surge through his body, filling him with a heat he had not felt in months. The young man placed a hand on his chest and felt his heart beating within him.

Ziddy stumbled and her vision blurred. "Oh boy, that hurt."

Sora looked back at Ziddy and watched her fall to the earth.

"Ziddy!" Kairi yelled as she saw her cousin fall.

Heartless began to rise around Ziddy's unconscious body. Behind her, gold light appeared and a figure came forth from it. It stood over Ziddy in shock.

"What have you done?" it asked.

"Go, go, go!" Riku yelled, helping Sora to his feet.

Ansem watched as the three ran off down the path.

"Genn a san." He shouted and the Heartless began to chase down Kairi, Sora, and Riku. He looked back down at Ziddy and an expression of panic took over him. "What have you done?"

AN: Will they be caught? Will they get away? What will happen to Ziddy? Is this the end to Ansem's evil plot? Or just the beginning? You'll never know unless you keep reading! Mwha!


	6. A Game Well Played

**_Ch. 6: A Game Well Played_**

_There's are there's, mine are mine. Same old same old._

Ziddy moaned, turning over on her side. A familiar smell reached her and she woke without opening her eyes. She moved her hands up and down her stomach, feeling a familiar blanket. Ziddy opened her eyes slowly and her mouth dropped. She slid the blanket off her and sat up, dangling her legs over the bed. She came to her feet and placed her hands on the back of her head.

"Not good." She breathed aloud.

Ziddy walked over to her window and leaned against the opening. The young woman gazed out upon the dark kingdom she had called her home for the passed few months. She shook her head, laughing a bit. Finished with looking out at Kingdom Hearts, Ziddy turned and went to her bed post. She snatched up her cloak and exited her room. She walked down the hall of her familiar tower. Ansem had given the southern tower to her completely, seeing how it was only him, her, and the Heartless. Ansem rarely ventured into the southern tower, save for a few occasions. The young woman ran down the stone steps, and hurried into the throne room.

Ziddy threw open the doors to the throne room and strode in. The large room was empty; not even the usual guards were posted. The young woman sauntered about the room, attempting to explain the emptiness. And then, the darkness seemed to supply the answer. Her eyes widened with realization, and her heart pounded with fear. She backed away toward the door. With each step, her pace quickened until she finally turned and bolted down the hallway.

She remembered running like this before. If she was to continue to run this way, the aches in her legs and the sharpness off her breathing would soon begin. The door seemed to be farther away than any time before. Ziddy sprinted down corridors, dodged around corners, and jumped down steps until she reached the part of the castle she wished to be in.

The door was directly in front of her. When she finally reached it, she jumped onto it, grabbing the bottom of the indent the small window made in the door. Ziddy held herself above the stone ground, peering through the glass. Her eyes darted about the darkness searching for them.

"They're not in there."

Ziddy turned to see Ansem standing at her side, his back leaning against the wall. She let go of the door and backed up a few feet.

"The Heartless can't find them. Lost them two days ago. But they did manage to find this." Ansem tossed Ziddy a small black bag. "Look familiar?"

Ziddy opened the bag and dumped out the contents in her hand: a shattered vial.

"So enlighten me." Ansem chuckled.

Ziddy took a step back.

"You used one of the powers I gave you to travel into Sora's past and brought Kairi back with you."

She took another step. Ansem began to follow her.

"You gave them a potion that would hide them from the Heartless, which they used."

Another.

"You told Kairi an incantation in the Heartless language that would assist them in hiding, which she used I believe."

And another.

"And to top it all off, you gave Sora, the Keyblade master, back his heart."

Ziddy knocked against a small flight of steps. She placed the pieces of broken glass back in the bag and tossed it back to Ansem. Turning her back to the man, she climbed the stairs and quickly rounded the corner.

Smiling to himself, Ansem threw the bag onto the ground. He went up the steps and slowly turned the corner.

That night, even the Heartless shrank away as the agonizing screams of a sixteen year old girl echoed throughout the castle.

--

"Kairi, we've had this argument dozens of times already. We are not going back for Ziddy."

"And, again, I'm going to tell you boys that we have to."

Riku waved his arms in the air, giving up with the red-headed girl.

"Sora," she pleaded, "she gave you your heart back."

Sora stared off down the path. "After she stole it."

"She didn't steal it." She cried. ""She was just holding onto it. Keeping it safe."

"Here's a question: how did she get Sora's heart to begin with?" Riku asked.

"It had something to do with that prophesy. She never really went into great detail about it."

"Not proud of her amazing gift?" Riku spat, sarcasm oozing from every word.

"She believes she's cursed because of it."

"And we should pity her because of that?"

Kairi looked up at Riku, her eyes red from tears. "You don't know anything about her, Riku."

"So tell us."

"Sora, are you out of your mind!? We've got an entire Heartless army after us, and you want a history lesson about the girl who betrayed us and almost got us killed!" Riku shouted, his blood boiling.

"If there's a reason behind what she did, don't you want to know?" Sora snapped back.

"Maybe you missed the part when she said SHE'S WORKING FOR ANSEM!"

Kairi stood and watched the two young men argue.

"Ziddy, how could you leave it like this? Why did you have to leave again?" Kairi whispered, slightly hanging her head.

"Even if we do decide to go back for Ziddy, how do you expect to accomplish that!? She's back in Kingdom Hearts! It's not like we can just storm up to the castle gates and lay siege the palace!"

Letting Sora and Riku carry on, Kairi turned west. She hoped that the sunset would bring some sort of peace to her life, even if it would be only for a moment. But something else caught her eyes instead. There in front of her, blocking the sunset, was Adaman Forest. Kairi stared at the forest, curiosity embedded in her gaze.

Kairi shook her head. "There's no way. He'd catch us."

She straightened up, stuffing her hands in her back pockets. Once again, curiosity caught her gaze. Looking over her shoulder, she pulled something from her left back pocket. It was a vial filled with a rich-golden liquid. Inspecting the vial, she found a short message written in Ziddy's handwriting.

'Better hurry up. You'll only have three hours.'

Kairi's mouth dropped as she looked back up at the forest again.

"Son of a bitch…"

Without thinking twice, Kairi sprinted over to the boys. Before either of them could get a word in, she threw the vial down on the ground and it shattered. Sora and Riku silenced as smoke rose from the broken glass. The smoke formed three small cyclones that swirled up to the three teenagers. As if by command, the three inhaled deeply and took in the smoke. When the smoke was gone, Kairi smiled.

"What the hell was that!?" Sora yelled.

"That was my cousin being brilliant."

And with that, Kairi ran off toward Adaman Forest.

"Kairi!?"

"What are you doing!?"

--

"I'm telling you Ansem, you're losing your edge. Having you guards punish me instead of doing it yourself?" Ziddy shook her head, lifting her bruised body off the stone floor.

Ansem waved his hand, dismissing the Heartless guards. After a moment or two, he walked over to Ziddy, who was still on her hands and knees. He bent down next to her. Staring at the multiple bleeding slashes on her back, Ansem went to touch her shoulder. Before his hand could touch her skin, she slowly took it back and stood up. Ansem felt his stomach drop and nausea rise.

"Return to the southern tower. Don't attempt to leave the castle. When the time comes, you will do what you were meant to do." He said quietly.

Ziddy brought her feet forward and stood herself up. She stumbled for balance at first then held her ground.

"You can't change destiny child."

The young woman turned and limped over to the door. Before exiting, she stopped, keeping her eyes forward.

"Yes I can. It's what I do, remember?"

Not allowing Ansem to respond, Ziddy dragged her weak body to the southern tower and collapsed on her bed.

She lay there for hours, the pain surging through her veins. She was not sure how long she had been lying there when the Heartless came to her side.

_"What?"_ she snapped.

_"You humans are so complicated. Your heart gets in the way of everything. Makes you dream of grandeur; hope for redemption; forget one's duties; even make a person forget that her back is bleeding and that she should heal herself."_ One Heartless said.

Ziddy closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists. A green light surrounded her and absorbed into her back. Within seconds, her wounds were gone.

_"Is there anything else I can do for you?"_ she mused, sitting up on the bed.

_"For so long we had you safe within the darkness. And now the light is getting to you. We cannot risk our chosen one changing sides on us."_ Another Heartless spoke.

Ziddy stood up and walked over to her window. _"Things have changed now."_

The Heartless glanced at each other. _"You cannot escape your destiny."_

"Everyone needs to stop telling me that." She whispered.

_"Please use the language you were meant to use."_

_"I will do what I want and there will be nothing to stand in my way when that time comes. I choose my own destiny. And I change it if I wish."_

--

"Did you get any of that?" Sora asked Riku, running as fast as he could to keep up with Kairi.

"Something about saving Ziddy by getting to Adaman." Riku responded.

"Oh you two!" Kairi skidded to a sudden stop and turned back to Sora and Riku. "Ziddy is in Kingdom Hearts, yes?"

The two boys nodded.

"And the Heartless live in Kingdom Hearts, yes?"

They nodded again.

"And Adaman was the one who created the Heartless, right?"

"Kairi, where are you going with this?" Sora asked, flaying his arms about.

Kairi hung her head in annoyance and heaved a heavy sigh. "Adaman has to be connected to Kingdom Hearts somehow and if he is, then he'd be able to get us there."

"So you wanna ask the creature responsible for the creation of the Heartless if he could just show us a way to get to Kingdom Hearts so we can rescue the one person who's supposed to destroy all good and bring about darkness throughout all the worlds according to an ancient prophesy?" Riku went over what he had just said in his head.

Kairi waited for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, that's basically it."

With that, Kairi turned and began to run again.

"And just how do you propose to accomplish set task?" Sora yelled, rushing after the girl.

Riku followed. "Assuming that this works… this isn't gonna work!"

Kairi did not bother to turn around and respond to the two boys.

"Kairi!"

"Stop yelling!"

"No, Kairi! Look to your left!"

Kairi glanced over her left shoulder and saw something move in the trees. She stopped immediately as well as Sora and Riku.

"What was that?" Riku whispered.

"Exactly what we're looking for, I think." Kairi answered.

The shadow moved in the trees again. The ground shook and was quickly followed by a piercing screech.

"Now what do you plan on doing?"

Kairi stared at trees. She bit her lip, knowing what she was about to do might get them all killed. That did not matter though. Ziddy was in trouble and this was the only way to save her. Kairi stepped forward and breathed deeply. The shadow moved again, causing the ground the quake beneath their feet. Kairi swallowed, feeling her heart pounding in her throat. All was silent for a moment and the ground ceased its quaking.

"I have an offer for you." Kairi voiced loudly at the trees.

"Kairi…" Sora whispered though his teeth.

A strong gust blew from the trees at the three and again the piercing screech sounded.

"Time to go." Riku whispered.

"No. I'm not done yet." Kairi answered. "Take form Adaman and let us talk."

"Talk? Now it talks?" Sora asked. "How is that possible?"

"Your friend doubts much young princess. His heart is filled with such pain and confusion. How did such a heart as his come to acquire the Keyblade?"

The voice that emerged from the trees was deep and rough. Riku and Sora stood stunned, their mouths dropped and their eyes wide. The trees began to separate and from the darkness came, what looked like, a huge glob of black mush. The boys watched as Kairi gave a small bow and they followed in a state of utter shock.

"I see you've been visited by your cousin and our savior."

"That's right Adaman." Kairi responded.

"Wha…?" Sora murmured.

"The potion Ziddy gave me cloaked us from the Heartless and gives us immunity from Adaman." Kairi said. "He knew Ziddy was the only one who could have made such a potion."

"You have this immunity and yet you come to seek me. Answer me this princess, why have you done this?"

"I have something to ask of you."

"Is that so?" Adaman seemed to laugh after this statement. "And why do you think I would send you to Kingdom Hearts to save our chosen one from fulfilling her destiny to the darkness?"

"Because her power is more than anyone, good or evil, could have predicted. Power like hers should not exist." Kairi retorted quickly.

Sora looked over at Kairi with more shock and horror than he had already expressed. He could not believe what Kairi had just said.

"Continue." Adaman commanded.

"Magic like hers was never meant to exist. Her whole existence was a mistake. And if you do not transport my friends and me to Kingdom Hearts, there will be no future for either side. No one can control what she possess." Kairi explained.

Sora and Riku had never heard her speak like this. She had a tone of voice she never used before. It was as though she wanted to hurt Ziddy. As if her whole purpose of going to Kingdom Hearts was not to rescue Ziddy, but rather to destroy her.

"And what do you propose young princess? If Ziddy's power is as untamable you claim it is, which I know to be true, then how will you act?" Adaman questioned. "Are you willing to abandon all bonds of family to do what is right for the continuation of our worlds as they are? Are you willing to destroy the one thing that threatens that balance?"

"Kairi, what is it talking about? Destroy what? Destroy Ziddy? I may not like the girl, but you can't just kill her because of what's inside her." Riku said, finally gaining back the power of speech.

"Be silent insolent one!" the dark creature thundered.

Riku stepped back and did as he was ordered.

"If you transport us to Kingdom Hearts, I promise you, her power will end for good." Kairi said, sounding somewhat cruel.

"What are you talking about!?" Sora yelled.

"Silence Keyblade master! Your power does not hold up in my domain. Here, I am in command." Adaman threatened. "Young princess, I shall grant your request and transport you and your companions to the kingdom of darkness. I send you there to destroy that which holds the power to bring down the worlds."

--

Walking about the southern tower, Ziddy did not notice that she was slowly slipping away from the real world into her own fantasy world inside her head. She had visited such a world many times before, mostly in sleep. But every once in a while, she would escape there in total consciousness. She lost herself in a sea of memories that flooded not only her mind, but flooded her eyes with fresh tears as well.

The walls around her went white and the hallway was suddenly filled with sunlight. Through the large windows in the hall, Ziddy could see an orange-gold sun setting behind a small town and a vast forest. She smiled softly, realizing that she was home. Not Kingdom Hearts where she now called home, but rather the home she once shared with her father in a far off world.

Off in the distance, Ziddy heard her name being called. She turned and walked around the corner of the hallway, following the familiar voice. Her name was called again. The young woman moved faster as it became clear to her who was calling her name. She could hear herself calling out to her father, beckoning him to come forth so she may see him. He kept calling out her name as she rounded more and more corners.

Ziddy turned a corner and there he was. Her knees went weak; it had been so long since she could remember what her father looked like. Tears streamed down her face as she walked toward him. He did not look at her though. He did not even notice her. He was looking at something behind her. Ziddy turned back and saw the small girl that she had once been. She watched as the child ran into her father's arms. He picked her up and spun around.

He stopped with his back to the grown Ziddy. Barely containing the urge to scream, she wept silently. He held the young girl up high in the air. For a moment, Ziddy could have sworn that her younger self could notice her standing there. Their eyes locked for a second and then the walls turned black again.

Ziddy returned to the real world, realizing that she had been running about the southern tower. She looked around at her surroundings and found that she had wound up at the entrance to the rest of the castle. The young woman felt a slight twinge in her right arm, but quickly dismissed it. For reasons unbeknownst to herself, Ziddy opened the large wooden door and began her way down to the dungeons. As she approached the lowest part of the dungeons, she could hear the Heartless roaming about. She did not care though. It was like a dream; she did not even know what she was doing until after she had done it.

As she stared out into the darkness of the dungeons, something odd occurred to her. This could not be possible. There were dungeons in her former home, but the castle of Kingdom Hearts had no dungeons. Then she thought she must have slipped back into her fantasy world. Although this time, it did not feel as though she was in her world. It was dark; it was cold; and for some reason, it was wet.

Ziddy felt the twinge in her right arm again and found herself in one of the older, smaller towers. This was the forbidden tower. There was only one entrance which was dozens of feet above its jagged floor. Her arms rested above her, latched onto the wall with thick chains. She could tell that the waterways of the castle had been open for the water around her kept rising. Try as she could, the young woman could not struggle for freedom. Ansem had done a good job making sure she would not escape. Drugging her, trapping her, then drugging her again. It was brilliant.

The water rose passed her mouth and she lay still on the rocks beneath her body. Ziddy laid her head back as the water rose above her eyes and gave in to the cold.

Ansem sat in the throne room surrounded by Heartless. He seemed restless. They were on their way. What had he done?

Kairi, Sora, and Riku gazed upon the castle gates. Kairi's stomach ached in a way that it had not in some time. Ziddy was in danger. It had begun.

Ziddy remembered this game now. It was her favorite game. Ansem would trap her in a situation where she believed she could not escape, but she always would. It was a test. To see how strong she saw. This was just another test. And when she emerged from the door, he would be waiting with another gift or power for her. A gift of such extravagance that she would not be able to refuse it. This was how he would win her over so that she would once again do his bidding. This is how he was going to get her to go after Kairi, Sora, and Riku. This was how he was going to get her to finish the job.

But this time, she would not give him the satisfaction of a successful game. If only she would be able to see the look on his face when she did not rise from the water. If only she could be there when the Heartless informed him that she was dead.

Ziddy's stomach began to ach in a way that if had not in some time.

_Kairi…_

AN: Okay, a lot just happened in that last little bit but it was meant to be that way. Everything leading up to the beginning of the next chapter had to move fast so it would add to the… well… you know… dun, dun, dun. Keep reading please!


	7. Making It Look Convincing

**_Ch. 7: Making It Look Convincing_**

_Yes, it is yet again, another disclaimer. I wonder what would happen if I didn't put one of these things at the top. shudders at the thought Okay, all characters that don't belong to me belong to Disney and SquareSoft. The rest are mine._

_Kairi…_

Ziddy's eyes sprang open. The water was dark and cloudy. She began to pull her arms away from the wall, trying to detach the chains that connected her to the stone. Slowly, her wrists started to glow a pale white each time she reached the chain's end. With each tug, the white light became brighter and brighter until it exploded from her wrists. The chains broke free from the stone wall.

"_What do you mean she hasn't emerged yet!?"_ Ansem yelled form the throne room as he received the news from one of the Heartless guards.

Kairi's stomach continued to ache.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Sora whispered, holding his stomach.

"Me too." Riku clutched his stomach as well.

"This is going to be unpleasant." Kairi said, bending over.

"What?"

Smoke exited their mouths and began to swirl about their bodies. The taste was horrible. The smell was still weird but the taste was almost unbearable. Kairi knew what was happening; the boys did not. The spell was over; the potion was leaving them now. The smoke continued to swirl around them, faster and faster. The smoke was not disappearing though.

"I don't understand. Why isn't the smoke disappearing?" Kairi asked aloud.

"I don't know. You're the one with all the mystical knowledge recently." Riku responded, watching the smoke encircle him.

Suddenly, the smoke retreated back into the three teenagers. The reentry knocked them off balance for a moment.

"I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen." Riku announced quietly, regaining his balance.

"I don't get it. The smoke should have disappeared. Our three hours were up. The spell should be over." Kairi said, astounded at what had just occurred.

"You think Ziddy did it?" Sora asked, looking over at Kairi.

Kairi did not answer straight away. She stood in deep thought, staring down at her hands.

'_How could she have done that?'_ she thought. _'She doesn't even know that we're here. How could she have known that we needed more time with the potion?'_

"It had to have been her. She's the only one with that kind of power. But I don't understand. How did she know?"

Riku and Sora shrugged.

Ansem stood up from his throne.

_"She should have surfaced by now!"_

From the side door, a Heartless guard entered and hurried over the Ansem.

_"Sire, the tower… it's empty."_

_"What do you mean it's empty?"_

_"There is no sign of Ziddy. She's gone."_

Ansem sank back down on his throne. There were only two explanations for the young woman's disappearance. She had either escaped and was now in hiding somewhere in the castle, or it was over and the darkness had consumed her body.

_"Find her. Search every part of this castle."_

_"Sire, no human, not even her, could have held their breath that long and then to have.-"_

_"Find her!"_

The guards vanished with his words. He stood in the throne room on his own, watching the darkness in silence.

"Why send them away? You knew I was here all along."

Ansem smiled, trying to hide the fear he knew he was experiencing.

"What do you plan on doing now?" He asked.

"First," Ziddy emerged from the shadows and placed one of her Keyblades on the back of Ansem's neck, "I'm going to kill you, and end this once and for all. And then, I don't know, maybe I'll go back home."

"Giving up again Ziddy?"

"I never…" Ziddy spat but stopped, and lowered the blade. "What did you call me?"

"I'm sorry Ziddy. I'm so sorry."

Ziddy dropped both her blades as the tears began to stream down her cheeks.

_"Nemon ecken Ziddy?"_

Ziddy's head twitched violently once and she blinked.

"Stop."

_"Tevroo?"_

The words caused Ziddy to violently twitch again. Flashes of that night quickly passed by her eyes, making her loss balance.

"Stop." She repeated, her head beginning to pound.

_"Hotena shebeast loni."_

"I said stop!"

The Heartless encircled the young woman as she blinked and twitched uncontrollably, and stumbled about. A Heartless rose, and Ziddy fell.

_"Hotena shebeast loni."_

Ziddy raised her head from the ground and looked around her. She came to her hands and knees, and looked back down at the ground. With a quick snap of her body, a light emerged from Ziddy's body and slashed through the Heartless, destroying them all.

"It'll take more that that." She said, her voice weak and weary, as she stood up. "You need me to have that, remember? It doesn't work without it."

"Are you ready to do what must be done now?" Ansem said, turning to face the young woman.

Ziddy's breathing had become deep and heavy with pain.

"He was here. He's stronger than you Ansem. He'll come back. And when he does, you'll be nothing but a memory. And once you're gone, I'll put everything back to the way it's supposed to be. I'll make everything right again! It'll all be done for nothing! You'll be gone forever. No one will remember. I'll fix it once and for all."

Ansem bent down and picked up Ziddy's Keyblades. He held them out the Keyblade master, and smiled that smile.

"But until then," he let go of the Keyblades and Ziddy caught them, "you'll do what you're meant to do."

Ziddy stared at her Keyblades, black as night itself. She nodded slightly.

"I'll do what I must."

----

Kairi, Sora, and Riku walked along the hallways of the castle.

"Riku, what's the matter with you?" Sora whispered.

Although he was breathing silently, Sora could tell that Riku's breathing was fast and heavy from fear. Sweat dripped down the silver-haired boy's skin.

"I've been here before." Riku squeaked.

His head twitched and he blinked, painfully. A quick vision flashed before Riku's eyes. He was being dragged through the very hallway they stood in now by a number of Heartless. He was blindfolded and gagged.

"Riku?"

Again, Riku twitched and blinked. He saw himself being chained and strapped to a wall. Ansem stood in front of him.

"What's happening Riku?"

Riku grabbed the sides of his head and yelped in pain. He saw himself writhing in pain, stilling attached to the wall. The vision disappeared and reappeared differently. He saw himself being surrounded by a dark blue light that formed a sphere around him.

"Riku, what's going on?" Kairi repeated.

"Keep quite. They'll hear you." Sora warned.

Riku yelled louder.

Kairi grabbed Riku's shoulders.

"Riku?"

"He's remembering."

Kairi and Sora spun around to find Ziddy standing a few feet behind them, her Keyblades resting on her shoulders.

"Ziddy!" Kairi let go of Riku and turned to her cousin.

Before she could run over to Ziddy, Sora gripped her arm and held her back.

"Remembering what?" Sora asked, sensing something different in Ziddy.

"Remembering what happened to him when he came here. After you left him behind the door." Ziddy said, taking a step toward the three.

Sora pulled Kairi back. Riku's pain faded away quickly and he released his head. Ziddy began laughing quietly.

"Come on Kairi." She said.

Ziddy disappeared into a swirl of smoke and reappeared behind the three.

"Let's play a game."

They turned quickly.

"Why are you doing this?" Kairi asked, beginning to panic.

"Because this is what I was meant to do Kairi! I've told you this before!" she yelled in fury, forcing her laughter to continue.

Again, she disappeared into the swirl of smoke and reappeared by a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway.

"Come on Kairi!"

Ziddy ran up the stairs. Kairi freed herself from Sora's grip and ran after her cousin. Sora and Riku pursued as well. The three teenagers chased Ziddy until they reached, what seemed to be, the throne room of the castle. When they entered, there was no sign of Ziddy anywhere. Instead, they found Ansem, standing at the top of a flight of stone steps.

Neither Sora, Riku, nor Kairi ascended the steps.

"Princess, so good to see you again, and alive too. Riku, welcome back my boy. And Sora, it has been too long." Ansem said, bowing slightly to the three.

Sora's Keyblade quickly found itself in the young master's hands. Riku's was taken out as well. Kairi backed up behind the two boys and put her hand on Sora's shoulder.

"You are pathetic Keyblade master." Ansem snickered.

"And why is that?" Sora spat back.

Ansem replied in laughter.

"Where's Ziddy?" Riku demanded, grinding his teeth in fury.

Ansem laughed harder. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me anymore Riku."

"I don't."

"How does that have anything to do with Ziddy!?" Sora yelled.

"Oh my boy, you've gone and gotten yourself tangled up in the darkness again. You as well young master Sora. More than you'll ever know."

"What the hell are you talking about Ansem!?"

"Sora…" Kairi whimpered softly.

"How have we 'gotten tangled up'? What does that mean? We haven't got anything to do with you Ansem or your darkness. The only reasons we are here is to save Ziddy and destroy you… again." Sora argued.

"You've everything to do with me! You see, you've become involved with the darkness by being with that one person who's connected to the darkness more than me! The one person who has more ties to me than anyone else in any of these damned worlds! You've gotten yourselves involved by being with Ziddy," he outstretched his hand and Ziddy appeared in a swirl of gray smoke, "my daughter."

Sora and Riku stumbled a bit in confusion.

"No, that's not true. He's bluffing." Sora whispered.

Ziddy turned her head to Ansem. "You promised you wouldn't tell!" she yelled.

Sora's knees gave out, causing him to lose balance. Riku stopped breathing for a moment.

"That… that can't be… true… he's lying…" Riku managed to utter once he remembered to breathe again. "He's… he's making her say that…"

Even though she knew she was going to regret it, Kairi stepped forward. Before she had time to speak, Ansem grabbed Ziddy's arm and shoved her toward the stairs.

"Finish them." He demanded.

"My head hurts." Sora whispered, still stumbling for balance.

Ziddy looked down the steps at the three at the bottom.

"Ziddy, don't." Kairi yelled up the steps, watching her cousin reached for her Keyblades.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Riku grasped his stomach.

"Do it! Finish them!"

"That's enough Uncle Ansem!" Kairi screamed.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be sick."

"Oh princess, theatrics won't bring him back. Pity doesn't work anymore, something you should have figured out the first time I had you killed." Ansem turned to Ziddy again. "Do it!"

Ziddy unsheathed one of her Keyblades and began to descend the stone steps.

"The Keyblade master first I think." Ansem waved his hand through the air and sent Kairi and Riku crashing into the back wall.

"Riku! Kairi!" Sora yelled, watching his friends lift themselves off the rock ground.

"Sora! Look out!" Kairi screamed.

Sora turned back around to see Ziddy standing right in front of him. She quickly gripped the young man around the neck and lifted him off the ground.

"Zid… Ziddy… sto… don't… plea…" Sora managed to squeak in between gasps for air.

"I don't have a choice. He's my father whether I like it or not. I can't lose him again."

Only three tears managed to escape from Ziddy's maroon eyes. With all her might, the young woman threw Sora and he landed a few feet away.

"Don't do this." He said, rushing to his feet.

Ziddy unsheathed her other Keyblade and walked toward Sora.

"Unsheathe your Keyblade and fight. I won't tell you twice." She said, twirling her blades around in her hands.

Sora did as he was told, backing away from the young woman. Ansem watched with that smile as Ziddy and Sora danced around each other, their blades clanging together every so often.

Finally, the battle began. Sora and Ziddy rushed at each other, their Keyblades making the most horrible sounds as they collided. They dodged and ducked and pounced and slashed. Bruises were blackened and blood dripped from newly formed gashes on their skin. Once again, the two Keyblade masters circled each other.

"I don't want to fight you Ziddy." Sora said softly.

"And you think I want to fight you?" Ziddy shouted in a whisper.

"Then why?"

"To make it look convincing."

Unexpectedly, Ziddy winked and smiled at Sora. He stood, stunned, for a moment. At last, he caught on. Simultaneously, Sora and Ziddy lifted their blades straight up and cried out "Curaga!", and all their wounds were healed.

"What?" Ansem whispered.

Heartless began to rise from the floor on all sides.

"What do you want me to do?" Sora asked, quietly.

"He'll figure it out any second now. Keep on fighting no matter what happens. There's something I have to do and you'll just have to trust me. Keep fighting, ok?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get my father back once and for all. But in order to get him back… just promise me you'll keep fighting, ok?"

Sora nodded. He watched as Ziddy snapped her fingers, starring over at Kairi. In Kairi's hands, there appeared a Keyblade; one embedded with gold and different colored gems. Kairi gazed down at the Keyblade in awe and confusion. What the hell was Ziddy thinking? She did not know how to handle one of these things.

"Remember when I stole your favorite necklace and accidentally dropped it into the bay!?" Ziddy asked Kairi, turning to the stone steps.

"Yeah." She yelled back, still in awe and confusion.

"Pretend that's what they did."

More Heartless rose from the rock floor. Kairi gripped the Keyblade tightly, feeling the anger she had once felt toward her cousin again. Riku joined her at her side, his Keyblade out and ready as well. The two charged the Heartless and began slashing through them. Sora had already begun picking off the Heartless, three at a time.

Ziddy ascended the stairs and smiled at Ansem.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked, fury growing inside him.

"I'm finally doing the right thing." She answered, still smiling.

The young woman tossed one of her Keyblades to Ansem, who barely caught it.

"I don't understand. You wish to fight? Me?"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi cut through Heartless after Heartless. As the dark creatures' numbers started to dwindle, Sora stole a glace up the stone steps. His mouth dropped as his eyes fell upon Ziddy and Ansem dueling. Kairi saw Sora's mouth drop and quickly turned to see what had distracted him. She felt her heart sink a bit as she watched her uncle and her cousin fight.

"Ziddy! Stop!" she cried, trying to run toward the steps.

In between blows, Ansem addressed Ziddy.

"What is it that you hope to accomplish by doing this my child?"

Ziddy merely smiled back at him, thrusting her blade toward him.

After a while, the Heartless stopped rising from the ground. The remaining Heartless seemed to turn their attention to Ansem and Ziddy. Sora, Riku, and Kairi ceased fighting, standing among the few dozen creatures that remained without a care. Ziddy and Ansem soon came to a stop, the blades locked together as they each pushed forward toward each other.

"You are stalling child." Ansem said, struggling to keep his ground. "With your physical skills combined with your magic, I should be dead by now."

"What are you playing at?" Ziddy spat, pushing forward with all her might.

"No my dear, what are you playing at? How do you expect to get him back this way?"

"By making him feel the greatest pain a parent could ever feel." She answered.

"Is that so? And what is that?"

Ziddy looked up into the man's eyes.

"This."

Ziddy relaxed her muscles and stopped pushing. Ansem lost his footing, falling forward a bit onto Ziddy. Her stomach jolted as the blade entered her body, piercing through her completely. Ansem did not notice what had happened right away, but then he saw the blade protruding through Ziddy's back.

"No…" he gasped, holding onto the girl as her knees gave out.

"No!" Riku screamed.

"Ziddy!"

"NO!"

Following their screams, the Heartless reared their heads back and let out a terrifying screech. Off across the distance in a dark forest, Adaman let out the same terrifying screech. It was over.

Ansem laid Ziddy down, panicking a great deal. He backed away quickly, pulling the blade along with him. Blood dripped from it and his panic rose. Ziddy's body twitched uncontrollably as she covered the bloody hole in her stomach. Staring down at her, Ansem felt Riku and Sora grab his arms, and watched Kairi fall to her knees next to Ziddy.

Ziddy managed to murmur something, but Ansem could not hear her due to the fear and pain until Sora and Riku jerked him back to reality.

"Say my name." she whispered, blood dripping from the side of her mouth.

Kairi stroked her cousin's hair, tears pouring form her eyes. Sora and Riku, at the moment, felt more rage toward Ansem than sadness toward the dying girl in front of them.

"Say… my name." Ziddy repeated.

Ansem was unable to speak though. Kairi looked up at him, her pain becoming rage as well.

"Say her name, Uncle Ansem!"

Ansem remained silent.

Sora and Riku continued to jerk Ansem about, pulling and tugging on his harder and harder. All color left the man's face as he continued to gaze down at Ziddy.

Kairi could no longer feel Ziddy twitching as she stroked her hair. Frightened to look down at her cousin, she began to feel around for Ziddy's shoulders. She was no longer moving anywhere. She placed her hand over Ziddy's mouth. Either she was breathing extremely slowly or not at all.

"Say her name damnit!" Riku yelled.

The two boys heard Kairi begin to sob and whisper "No…" over and over again. They looked down and saw her cradling Ziddy in her arms. Together, they released Ansem's arms. As Riku continued to stare down at the two girls, Sora turned his eyes back to Ansem.

"She's dead…" he whispered to him.

Ansem felt his stomach drop.

"Ziddy!" he screamed, his eyes finally releasing tears.

In that moment, Ansem's body was covered in a pale white light that absorbed into his skin. He fell to his knees and hung head, crying. Kairi placed Ziddy's body down carefully and crawled over to Ansem. She placed a hand on his shoulder, still sobbing uncontrollably.

"Uncle Ansem?"

Ansem lifted his head and looked up into her eyes.

"I killed… my daughter." He sobbed.

Riku and Sora watched as Kairi wrapped her arms around the man. He looked exactly the same, yet something was different about him. He was no longer Ansem, ruler of the darkness; he was Ansem, a father and an uncle. Although the hatred for Ansem would never fade, they understood that this man was no longer him. They understood that, somehow in that moment where he screamed Ziddy's name, he had gotten his life back; his heart back. He had found his light. They did not know how they knew all this, but they did. They would have liked to believe that it was Ziddy's doing, but they knew she could no longer interfere for the better.

"Now what?" Riku asked quietly, staring back down at Ziddy's body.

"How could she think it could end like this? How could she think she could just leave like this?" Sora chocked back his tears. "How could she-"

But Sora was not able to finish his sentence. The ground shook violently. From the ceiling of the throne room came streams of what seemed to be blue flame. The flames crashed into the ground, causing it to shake even more violently. Try as they could, the two boys could not keep on their feet. They fell, and tumbled down the flight of stone steps. Kairi and Ansem were sent flying down the stairs as well. Heartless of all shapes and sizes began to rise from the rocky floor, letting out that screech as they emerged from the darkness.

Although they knew they had to get up and fight off the Heartless, neither Riku nor Sora could move from the fall. They moaned as the bruises on their skin darkened. Kairi rolled over on her side, feeling a sharp pain run through her left arm. The pain increased as she tried to move it. Ansem was able to crawl over to her, but he collapsed back down as soon as he reached her.

The Heartless continued to rise from the stone ground.

"Sora…" Kairi groaned.

Riku felt something wet drip down onto his eye, making everything blur a bit. Try as he could, he could not move anything below his waist. Panicking, he began to find it hard to breathe. Sora lay in between consciousness and unconsciousness, unable to move anything.

The blue flames crashed into the ground, barely missing the four. In a matter of a few moments, everything seemed to go silent. The Heartless were still rising, and the blue flames were still firing, but it was all without any sound. Then, it all began to slow down. Objects blurred and became fuzzy as they slowed down.

The blue flames came closer and closer to hitting Sora and the others. The silence became deafening. Riku watched as a blue flame shot down toward him. Unable to move, he allowed the flame to hit him. Strangely enough, the flame did not hurt. Instead, the flame landed on his stomach and seeped into his skin. Suddenly, breathing became easier and the pain melted away. Finally, he felt the strength to sit up. He saw that Sora, Kairi, and Ansem had also been hit with blue flames. Their bruises were gone; all their pain had vanished.

Remaining silent, the four stood up. The Heartless had frozen in mid-attack. The blue flames still fell.

An instant later, the Heartless began to move again. They charged at the four with all intensity. No matter how fast they came, the Heartless never reached any of them. Before the Heartless could come close to any of them, they burst into fire or ice or they were struck by thunder.

Sora's mouth dropped.

"Ziddy…"

At this word, Kairi and Riku turned their eyes to the stone steps. On top of the stairs stood Ziddy, firing spell after spell at the Heartless.

"Ziddy!"

AN: Don't ask, just keep reading. It'll all be explained in the next and final chapter! Woot!


	8. How to Change Your Destiny

_**Ch. 8: How to Change Your Destiny**_

_All characters that are not mine are obviously not mine, they are SquareSoft and Disney. All the rest are mine, all mine! Mwhahahaha!_

Fire.

Thunder.

Water.

Ice.

"How is this possible?" Sora stuttered, not able to move from the shock.

The Heartless no longer rose from the ground.

"That's my girl."

"But how?" Riku turned his head to Ansem, looking for an answer.

Riku noticed something strange about Ansem. Then he looked over at Sora and Kairi as well. They too were frozen still. The silence returned to the room, but this time around it was different. It was more of a calmly silence; peaceful.

"Hey you."

Riku turned back around to see Ziddy standing before him.

"I don't understand. How…?"

"Shh…"

Ziddy placed her fingertips on Riku's mouth. She bent her head down and took his hands in hers. Although he was still confused beyond belief, Riku allowed the young woman the place her head beneath his chin. He felt her tears fall on his chest. Riku held her for a moment, enjoying her warmth against his body.

"How did you do it Ziddy?" he whispered, rubbing his cheek against her hair.

Lifting her head slowly, Ziddy's tears ceased. She held his hands tight, smiling up at him.

"Do you remember… last night when you, Sora, and Kairi entered Adaman Forest? When Kairi spoke to Adaman and made a deal with him?" she asked.

Riku nodded. Her smiled melted his confusion and fear into nothing. He felt at peace for the first time in months.

"She said something along the lines of… magic like mine should have never existed. She said my power was too great for either good or evil. That power… that's what brought me back."

"I still don't understand."

Ziddy paused for a moment.

"These powers you've seen my use, the ones burned into my ankle, they're nothing more than gifts; acquired powers; things I've learned over time. _My_ power, the one they all fear… is…" Ziddy lowered her head again, but quickly picked it back up and looked at Riku. "I have the power to change destiny."

She paused again.

"That's how I was able to bring Kairi back; I changed her destiny. Instead of going back to the island and being brought to Kingdom Hearts which led to her death, I brought her with me. I changed her destiny so she could live again. And that's what I did for myself as well. I changed my destiny by erasing my death. I didn't think it would work, but I'm glad did. Death… was a bit more frightening that I had expected."

"As I can only imagine." Riku murmured.

Ziddy laughed, placing her hands on his cheeks and kissing his forehead. Again, she began to cry.

Riku wiped away her tears.

"Why are you crying? What's the matter? It's over now. You and Sora, you two have the power to close the doors forever. It can be over. You can come back to the island with us and we'll be happy."

"If it could only be that way. You know, when you were in this castle, all I kept asking Ansem to let me do was fight you. You, the Keyblade master's right hand man. The guardian who never was. It was supposed to be you, but destiny changed and I am truly sorry for that. Your name was to go down in history along side Sora's as his guardian, his protector, and I took that away from you."

"Ziddy, stop. It's okay. I don't care." Riku said, smiling at her.

Her tears once again stopped as she looked up into his green eyes.

"But there's something more, isn't here?" he asked.

Ziddy nodded.

"Don't worry. I'm going to make it right. You'll be fine."

"What more do you have to set right?"

"Just one more thing. Then… then it'll all be the way it was supposed to be."

Ziddy did not allow herself to cry again.

"You're going away, aren't you?"

"Shh…." Ziddy hushed, but Riku did not obey.

"You are." He concluded, his eyes glazing over in tears. "If it was only a love charm, then why do I still feel this way about you? Why do I feel like this is what I'm meant for?"

"Maybe because, if things were another way, it was meant to be."

A single tear rolled down Ziddy's cheek before she placed her lips on Riku's. He held her as if he would never let go. After a few moments, Ziddy pushed back. Before Riku could react, she waved her hands and he froze in time.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Ziddy made her way over to Sora. She quickly wiped away her and straightened herself up. When she looked presentable, the young woman waved her hand in front of Sora and he unfroze.

"What?" he muttered.

"Hey Sora."

Sora looked up from the ground to see Ziddy. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.

"I can't believe it. I thought you were dead." He said, laughing in relief.

Ziddy pulled away gently.

"I was dead. I came back though." She said, smiling.

"How?"

"It's what I do."

"You bring people back to life?"

"No." she answered. "I change destiny."

"You… you what?"

"That's the power Kairi told you about. The one she was going to destroy me over."

Sora lowered his arms.

"Adaman?"

"Yes, that one."

Sora placed his hands on Ziddy's shoulders.

"Is that how you're back?"

Ziddy nodded.

"I changed my destiny. It wasn't easy, but I did it. I took back my death."

"Was that the blue flames?" he asked.

"They had something to do with it." She answered. "Are you mad at me for what I've done?"

"Ziddy, it's over now. You're alive, Kairi's alive, you've got your father back. We can leave this place forever. Hey, you can come back to the island with us."

Ziddy smiled. That had been the second time she had been offered a home. As much as she longed to grasp the opportunity at a real home and a normal life, she knew that such things could never be hers.

"You were always so hopeful. You never gave up on anything; or anybody. You came back for me when you could have kept running. You will never know how grateful I am for that Sora."

The young woman placed a kiss on Sora's cheek and took his hands. The Keyblade master began to look worried.

"Why do you sound as if you're leading up to saying goodbye?" he questioned.

"You catch on quick, I'll tell you that." Ziddy forced another smile and a bit of a laugh.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" Sora began to sound concerned and a bit panicked.

"Don't fear Sora." Ziddy whispered.

"Where are you going? Why are you leaving again?"

Tears started falling from the young man's eyes. His hands trembled in Ziddy's.

"Shh… it's okay. Calm down. Everything's gonna be all right. I'm going to make it right. You'll see, it'll be the way it was meant to be." She reassured him.

"I don't want you to go."

"If I had a choice, I would take up your offer and live on that island till the end of my days. But this is what has to be done Sora. You have to understand that everything happens for a reason, that's why the Keyblade chose you. You believe in things that no one else would dream of. You're everything a Keyblade master should be. That's your destiny. You were destined to have this chance as a Keyblade master."

Sora wrapped his arms around Ziddy again. This time, he held her tighter.

"Please don't go Ziddy." He begged.

"Don't cry." She whispered. "Thank you for all you've done for me. You'll never know how much you've changed me. Thank you for showing me the way back to the light."

"I'll never forget you Ziddy." Sora cried.

With that, Sora was once again frozen.

Ziddy stepped back away from the boy, in tears once more.

"Yes you will." She sobbed.

She turned and fixed herself again. Running her fingers through her hair, she briskly walked over to Kairi. She paused for a moment, holding back the tears, and then unfroze her cousin.

Kairi fell forward a bit. Ziddy outstretched her arms and caught her mid-fall. Kairi found her footing and straightened up. Finally realizing that it was Ziddy in front of her, she smiled.

"I thought you weren't going to use that power any more." She laughed.

"Drastic times called for drastic measures. I _was_ dead, you know."

"Why are the boys and Uncle Ansem frozen?"

"Well then, you don't miss a beat, do you cuz?"

"Have you been crying? How long have I been frozen? What have you done?"

"Can I speak?" Ziddy asked, covering her cousin's mouth.

Kairi nodded and quieted. Ziddy lowered her hand.

Ziddy stood there looking at her cousin at a complete loss of words. She tried starting about six sentences, but they all failed. Annoyed with herself, Ziddy stuffed her hand in her pocket as if looking for something.

"No more potions Ziddy." Kairi pleaded.

"It's no a potion." She said, holding something in her hand.

Ziddy placed the object in Kairi's hand. Kairi looked down and saw a chain in her hand. She moved the chain around and found a small charm attached to it. It was a snowflake embedded with small diamonds and blue crystals. Kairi stared at the necklace in wonder.

"Dad said that my mother would have wanted me to have that. I've worn it everyday since he gave it to me. The clasp broke the other day, so I fixed it and put it in my pocket so it'd be safe until this was over. And now I'm giving it to you."

"Ziddy, I couldn't…" she murmured, shaking her head.

Kairi tried to give the necklace back to Ziddy, but she would not take it.

"I want you to have it."

"I don't want it." Kairi sobbed.

"Why not? It's a really nice necklace. Why wouldn't you-"

"Because it mean you're going away for good!" Kairi interrupted.

She began to cry loudly.

"You left when you decided not to come with me to the island. You left when you took me to the room. You left when we were in the room. You left after you brought me forward with you. You died! How could you think you could leave me again!? How could you go away again after all that!?"

Ziddy bent her head in shame.

"You can fix this without leaving, I know you can."

"No, I can't Kairi." Ziddy said softly, lifting her head back up.

"Why!? Why is the only way to fix it is for you to leave!?"

"You think I want to leave!? If I had a choice, I would do it the easy way and stay with you. I just go my dad back; you think I don't want to stay here with him? This is the only way to make it right. I have to put everything back the way it's supposed to be."

Kairi stopped crying aloud, trying to wipe away her tears. She grasped onto the necklace tightly.

"How?" she asked, finally able to control her tears.

Ziddy did not answer right away, putting her hands in her back pockets.

"I have to go back and erase the first time I used my power."

"And when was that?"

Ziddy looked down at the ground.

"Ziddy?"

"No matter what happens, the necklace will stay with you. You won't know where you got it from, but it'll stay with you."

"What do you mean I won't know where I got it from?" Kairi snapped. "You can't make me forget you Ziddy. No amount of magic can make me forget you."

Before Kairi could say another word, Ziddy waved her hand and her cousin froze before her. She took the necklace from Kairi's hand and clasped it around her neck.

"Goodbye Kairi." She whispered.

Tears no longer found their way to Ziddy's eyes. She had none left to weep. Composing herself one last time, she approached her father. She did not wave her hand before him though. Saying goodbye was going to be hard enough. She could not do that while he had the power to speak to her as well.

"You know, there's something I never told you and I think you should know now, even though you can't hear me because you're frozen. When I was about six I started having dreams about mom. I saw her the day I was born. You were right; she was one of those really pretty pregnant women. I saw her giving birth to me. It took my years to figure out why I kept having that same dream over and over again. But then I finally figured it out. It wasn't just a dream, it was my power. It was showing me the past for a reason. It was showing me the first time.

"I never told you because you always thought that my first time was that time when I was three and I changed that teenager's destiny. I didn't want you to think I had done it before because you always told me that I should never use my power unless it was a time of great need for something like my magic. I was afraid you'd get mad at me for what I did that day. So I kept it a secret… until now.

"I just wanted you to know that before I left. And I want you to know that you were a wonderful father. I would never ask for another, even though you went away for a while. But you came back and that's all that matters. I love you dad."

Ziddy could not say another word. The tears had come back. She began to slowly lift her hands up to her father's forehead. She snatched her hands back several times, avoiding what she knew she had to do. Panic rose in her stomach, causing a very uneasy feeling to stir within her. Her hands trembled. She closed her eyes and quickly placed her fingertips on Ansem's temples.

Ziddy's head reared back and she let out a scream of pain.

The world blurred and spun around her.

--

Sixteen years into the past. Sixteen long years. Ziddy stood in that all too familiar dream. The room was a pale green color. Two elder women stood next a bed in the center of the room. She saw that Ansem stood behind the bed holding onto the person who was lying on the bed.

Ziddy walked amongst them completely unnoticed. She had done this countless times before. This was not like when she had gone back to change Kairi's destiny. She was nothing more than a spirit in this past event, walking around as if invisible.

The woman on the bed was her mother.

Ziddy went to the side of the bed where they women were not standing. The first time she had come back to this day was strange for her to watch what was unfolding, but now, watching her mother give birth to her wasn't so weird anymore. She knelt down and placed her chin on the bed.

"You know, dad's right. I do look a lot more like you than him. At least after seeing you I finally figured out where I got this crazy hair from. He says I have your smile too. And your eyes. I think the only thing I got from dad is my nose." Ziddy sighed. "But you're heard all this before. I say the some thing every time I come back."

Ziddy laughed quietly.

"All right Cassandra, it's time to push." She heard one of the women say.

Ziddy looked up at the woman and her smile disappeared. She quickly rose from the side of the bed and ran to her father's side behind the bed.

"Back away dad." She whispered.

Although he could not hear her, Ansem did as Ziddy commanded. Tears began to stream from Ziddy's eyes. She stood behind her mother and placed her hands on the bed.

"Mom, I have to do something now and I just want you to know it's for the best. I have to put everything back the way it's supposed to be."

Ziddy came to her knees and looked at her mom.

"I don't turn out to be a bad person. Dad raises me great. It's just… there's something inside me that I can't control. It's not really bad, but it can make me do bad things. And when dad went away, I used it to for… well, it wasn't good. And it's not your fault. It's not dad's fault. It's not anyone's fault. I just have something that wasn't supposed to exist; which is why what I need to do is what has to happen. What I did that night wasn't supposed to happen. What happens now isn't suppose to happen. I'm not supposed to use it to…" Ziddy chocked back on tears and a bit of vomit. "I tried to take it back so many times mom, but it just doesn't work out the way I want it to. It's either you or me; it can't be both. It won't allow me to save both of us.

"I panicked. I don't know how seeing how I wasn't even born yet, but still… I panicked. And I used my power. And I did a bad thing. I was supposed to die the day I was born. I wasn't supposed to exist. The power inside me wasn't supposed to exist. It was a mistake. But I was afraid. So, instead of dying, I used my power to change my destiny. I don't know how, but I did. I changed it so I wouldn't die. You did instead. We both couldn't survive the birth. One of us had to die. And I chose you. I didn't mean to; I don't even know how I did it. I just did. You died the day I was born because I made it so.

"But now I'm going to set things right. I'm gonna put things back the way they're supposed to be. I'm gonna take it back. I'm not going to allow the little me to use her power to change her destiny."

Ziddy watched as her father stood by his wife's side, cheering her on through the painful process of bringing their child into the world. The elder woman stood at the end of the bed instructing Cassandra what to do. She placed her arms around her mother from behind. Cassandra could not feel her daughter's arms nor could she feel her placed her chin atop her head.

"You're gonna be fine. You'll be okay. You and dad will move on; I've seen it. You're gonna have what would have been my younger brothers. You'll never have another girl though. Your sons will be strong and healthy and they won't be burdened as I was with a power that they did not want. They're going to be perfectly normal. They're going to grow up and do great things. Your niece will love them like brothers. She'll go to the island for a different reason this time around: because she will get the chance to cross over between the worlds as a reward, not because she needs to. She'll come visit you and dad as often as she can. She's going to be all right as well. You and dad will live long and wonderful lives.

"I'm scared mom." Ziddy cried. "I'm so scared. I don't want to leave you. I'm so scared."

Cassandra squeezed her husband's hand.

"I love you mom."

'I love you Ziddy…' Cassandra thought.

Ziddy stopped shaking. She closed her eyes and held her breath. When she released the air inside her, her skin began to glow. The light that no one else could see traveled from her body and covered Cassandra's skin. Ziddy swallowed a mouth full of spit and vomit, and smiled.

--

"I'm sorry Master Ansem, but the child did not survive."

--

In the years after that day when destiny reset itself, things were different. Ansem was not driven to madness by the death of his wife which allowed him to fall into darkness. Cassandra lived, and went on to bear two sons. The creatures called the Heartless faded away. Their only purpose was to feed Adaman, and when they could not replace that purpose with another, they drifted back into the darkness and faded from existence. Adaman slipped back into slumber, leaving the world to itself for a time. The doors never opened; the worlds never connected.

The Keyblade remained safely tucked away from the worlds until its time was to come. There will come a time when such a blade must return to the worlds and chose its master. But not yet.

Not yet.

"Sora you lazy bum, I knew I'd find you snoozing around here."

AN: Yeah, that's it folks. THE END!


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